All That Was Left: Survival
by The Storm Commando
Summary: 6 Years prior to the awakening of the Avatar, in the Fire Nation occupied city of Citadel, orphans attempt to survive and make their way amidst the chaos brought about by the 94-Years War.
1. Prologue

Water, Earth, Fire, Air

These are the elements of the world we live in.

If the Fire Nation had it their way, the list would be 3 short.

94 years ago, the Fire Nation was invaded by the Air Nation Army on a conquest to spread their cultish religion to all corners of the world, but the Fire Nation intervened hoping to spare the world from another civil war, but it was too late. The Air Nation had convinced the Water and Earth Nations to take up arms against their peaceful neighbor plunging the war in a nearly century long war. In a decisive victory, Fire Lord Sozin crushed the armies of the war-mongering Air Nation and took the first step to bring peace and prosperity to the world.

These are only one of the thousands of lies the Fire Nation drives into the minds of their citizens, soldiers, prisoners, and even children.

I know what the Fire Nation is. I've known for the last 40 years of my life, but I finally have proof. Military records, diaries, journals, maps, everything I needed to piece together the hundreds of thousands of war crimes committed by those who claim to protect us. The annexation of the Earth Kingdom West Coast, the burning of towns, killings of prisoners, and the genocide of the Air Nomads. Everything I needed to expose them. Years spent undercover in the Fire Nation as a soldier, I rose in the ranks. I did things I'll regret until my last day. Followed their orders. Killed people who didn't deserve it, who had done nothing wrong, but I kept telling myself it was for the greater good. I made allies. Killers, murderers, rapists, sadists, you get the idea. I earned their trust however necessary. As I've said, I'm not proud of it. All these years of making myself one of them and it still wasn't enough. I've been caught. The person I was closest to, thought I could trust, has exposed me. I can hear them pounding on my door. I'll turn myself in, but not this.

This journal is a collection of evidence of the Fire Nation's many war crimes and a journal of my journeys to uncover them which I hope can be of use. If my family ever recovers this, I want them to know that I'm sorry. For everything. I made mistakes. I hurt people. But I did it all to make a difference that will hopefully mean something. The Air Nation has fallen, but not all Air Nomads are dead. I have seen to that. If somebody finds this journal, it must not fall into the hands of the Fire Nation. The fate of the world truly depends on it.

I have done all I could.

This is monk Gyani, of the last of the Air Nomads,

Saying farewell.


	2. Chapter 1: The Execution

**Luke**

Even in the center of the city, the walls of Citadel were still visible rising fifty feet above ground. It seemed even taller to those in the slums forming the outer ring of the city. As did its Earth Kingdom counterpart, Ba Sing Se, Citadel managed to completely segregate the rich from the poor. The steel walls bearing the Fire Nation insignia stood testament to the inhospitable captivity offered by the city. Unless you were military, no way in, no way out. This was especially evident to the gangs that plagued the slums. Mostly children considering anybody older than 12 would be drafted to fight in a war they knew nothing about or would even enlist considering it meant food, water, and a roof over your head. I could see this because I had the eyes for it. Everybody else was too concerned about who to mug one day, beat another day, and how to ensure your gang didn't decide you weren't worth a portion of their supply. But I had the eyes to notice what was happening around me at all times. 10 years old wasn't the worst age on the street. You weren't old enough to be drafted or young enough to be literally stomped on by the bullies, but I had my own setup. Watching. Most would be surprised how much people without food or water talked. There wasn't exactly anything better to do. Wandering the streets of the outer ring appropriately called "The Filth District", information of all kinds could be picked up. If a gang spotted out a vendor that showed easy picking, the info could be sold to another for at least 5 copper pieces or its worth in food which was preferable. The best-case scenario was when gangs were at war and let loose plans of attack: Raids, Thefts, you name it. That could get you not only a good reputation, but enough food for a week in the hopes it didn't get stolen off of you.

At this point in time, the streets were more at war than anytime I could remember. The main conflict was between two gangs. One rather new led by a 12-year-old named Miro. The other a long-term gang lead by a 14-year-old named Riu. It was said he killed the Fire Nation recruiter who tried to get him to join. It wasn't much of a war, but rather a series of attacks on the street, thefts, beatings, and kidnappings. I took part in my own way. Despite my preference which was for the newcomer, I sold information to whoever offered most. I would occasionally see the consequences when walking around the slums. A safe house raided, a drop off intercepted, or even a deal interrupted, but the one thing I never did was give up somebody's identity or anything that could get them killed. That was going too far. I didn't exactly get excited over the thought of a body turning up on the street that was the responsibility of the rat named Luke.

I left my regular spot, sitting on the railing of a stairway and took a walk down the Grain street towards the Grain gate. The main streets and gates of the city were named after the trade routes they were connected to go. If you kept following the Grain street north, you would eventually reach farms on the eastern outskirts of Ba Sing Se that the Earth Kingdom forces paid no mind to. Some farms gladly accepted the new trade opportunities and traded healthily the Fire Nation while others who still swore fealty to the Earth King would be extorted for all their food whenever they were visited. If they refused or fought back, they would be replaced with more loyal farmers.

I passed by a trio of Miro's thugs. After the one called Reek caught sight of me, the rest went appropriately silent. They knew who I was and responded the way they should. I didn't blame them and they didn't blame me. They knew that you did what you had to make a living. The relative safety it brought me as a universal asset was worth the silence received from others, but that was just business.

"Hey Luke" said the smallest of the group, Reek, who had appropriately earned his name. "Got anything for us?"

"Got anything for **me**?" I replied

Reek smiled. "Yeah. We're going to hit the Hive so make sure they know to send all of their guys there."

"I'll be sure to do that." I replied with an equally joking smile.

"Shut up, Reek." Said the oldest whose name I hadn't caught.

"Just making friendly conversation, Mu."

"We're not fed to talk."

"We're not fed at all"

"Miro told us- "

"Fuck Miro." Interrupted Reek.

I chose to step in and said, "I'll just get going." So, I let the two continue their "friendly discussion" while I turned the other way and walked towards arsenal street. Reek's loyalty was obviously in question. It was possible that Riu might be able to take advantage of that. For a fee, of course.

 **Danev**

Riu's base wasn't much, but it was home. The home base of the "Hornets" was lovingly dubbed "The Hive". The abandoned cluster of abandoned 2 story apartment buildings was gathered together, walled off with junk fences comprised of spare parts, wheels, metal sheets, and anything else they could find. The cluster was covered by a large green tarp rattled in holes allowing the location to live up to its name even more so. Some of the more dedicated members would squeeze out of these holes whenever leaving to give the impression of a true "Hornet." The Hive, being the Hornet's main base, housed most of their members while the others were more spread out over the slums. The Hive housed in total, around 27 members, none of whom were put to waste. If you lived there, you either had a weapon in hand guarding the entrances, running supplies, at the forge, doing another task or you were dead on your bedroll. The entrance to the base was the west most apartment. It was guarded by 5 men at all times and I stood guard at the day and half the night. The other quarter of the day, I slept in the building unless I was out on a mission.

I checked how I looked this evening with my reflection on the blade of my knife. Skin still tan, hair still brown, eyes still green. _Still alive. Good._

I was guarding the main entrance when I saw one of my more usual clients push the tarp entrance aside and walk in. I and two of my other kids, Aden and Meeko approached the silver eyed, skinny, brown haired information broker, spears and swords raised.

"You know the drill" I said. "Arms up."

Luke sighed and raised his arms in a T-frame position, pulling the knife from his belt and dropping it to the ground. I reached down and picked it up saying "You'll get this on the way out."

I handed the knife to Aden and patted down Luke saying, "Is there anything else I should know about?"

"I may have reached puberty in the last month so don't let it startle you."

At Luke's right sleeve near the edge, I pushed out the item and grabbed it revealing an iron arrowhead.

"Shit." Luke said. "Forgot about that."

"This is Fire Nation" I informed him.

"Got to close to the Arsenal gate. They don't take kindly to urchins."

"You trying to stab be, asshole?"

"Fuck no. I'm selling."

"So, say it."

"Money first."

"Money after."

"Fine. Miro's not feeding his guys anymore. Your last raid really fucked them up good. His guys are pissed. One of them, Reek, looks ready to crack. You could probably get info out of him and maybe even get him to join."

"Why would I want Reek. That little shit can't **fight** for shit."

"He would say the same about your guys. Beat Aden up pretty good last time way I hear it."

Aden, still wearing a limp, grew more tense and angry from behind me probably thinking of very nice ways to use Luke's knife.

I turned to look at Aden and held up a hand to calm him down. I turned back to Luke and said, "That all?"

Luke gave a look of sarcastic surprise and repeated mockingly "That all? That's good shit. So how much?"

"5 coppers"

"Bullshit. 10"

"5"

"10. That was good. You had no idea what affect your raid on their safe house had last week. Now you know and its bad for them, good for you. You can start up recruiting from their side and you should have no problem if you offer food."

There was a pause. Luke was taking a risk. Despite knowing me for a long time, I wasn't the kind of guy to hesitate from beating his ass just because of a good past. Unless it was Riu of course.

"10."

Aden, on cue, walked behind the counter in the room, reached down behind it and pulled a small chest out, inserted a key, turned it, and opened the chest. He dug around a took out 10 copper pieces. He handed them to me and I handed them to Luke.

Luke smiled. "Thanks" he said, honestly grateful. "On that note, mind if I peek inside. I could use a rest" he said joking. Neither Miro nor I let Luke inside our base for obvious reasons. The fact Luke was even inside the entrance was a perk that took months to gain.

"Leave."

Luke turned around to leave, but then stopped and turned around. "Knife and arrowhead please."

I took the knife from Aden and handed it to Luke, but slipped the arrowhead in my own pocket.

"Arrowhead too please."

"You didn't tell us you had one. For all intents and purposes, we found it on the street."

Luke shook his head and turned around, leaving muttering "Asshole."

I had hoped this would be quick, and it had, but not quick enough. On Luke's way, out, he was shoved and passed by one of Riu's thugs, pulling a wheelbarrow, uncovered, showing arms and armor. The armor bore the insignia of the Fire Nation on the chest piece. I looked at Luke who had seen the whole thing, wearing a grin on his face and he started chuckling. I turned to glare at Slim, the man who had just realized his mistake. Luke, laughing now, left.

I signaled for Aden and Meeko to take the supplies inside, leaving the room. I walked to the entrance and pulled the tarp closed over the entrance and turned back to the kid who had revealed too much.

"Danev." He started. "I'm sorry. I had no- ", but was interrupted by my fist contacting his jaw, knocking him to the ground.

I put his knee to his crotch and, held his shoulder with his left hand, and began beating on the kid until his nose and much more was broken, but he was still breathing.

I pulled him up by his collar and practically dragged him deeper into the Hive so the kid could realize just how much he screwed up.

 **Luke**

Still laughing, I made my way back to Grain street. Selling, this time around. Hopefully Reek was still around to buy. I bargained this could get me at least 3 copper pieces. If I bargained enough, maybe 5. I would have to really exaggerate the importance of said information. _This information is of the upmost importance. It is imperative that it reaches Miro in time._ No. That just sounded stupid. _Don't play the loyalty card. They know you don't care who wins or loses._ That was true. I didn't. Only that it lasted long enough to make me a living.

I got to the Grain street and was relieved to see that not only was Reek still present, but it was only him. This would remove any interference. I closed the distance between us, nodding my head as a greeting. Reek found him approaching and nodded in response.

"Back so soon?" The short, freckled boy asked. "Let me guess. It's of the upmost importance."

To that, I laughed. I had played that routine in the past and had gotten my ass kicked over it by Reek, but I just got back up after it was over, which had apparently won him his respect by the looks of it.

"So." Reek said. "What have you got?"

"Okay. As you know, I was and the hive and-." I was cut off by the gonging of a bell from the city center.

"Recruitment Drive?" Said Reek. "Already?"

Having lived in Citadel for all our lives, we knew what the bells meant. One gong for recruitment, 2 for execution, and 3 for if the city was under attack.

I had heard all but the third, but the gongs of the bell, which left what felt like hours between them, left you wondering.

Reek and I stood still, waiting, listening. Then the second gong came. They waited some more, but the third never came.

"Who do you think it is this time?" I asked.

"No idea. Maybe they caught a spy?"

"Maybe. Wanna go?"

"Sure. Why not. Got nothing better to do today. Tell me your wonderful tales after. I'll get some more of my guys to hear you out."

"Sure thing"

So, we walked to the city center, which wasn't really a center, but on the outskirts of the military district where the Nobility resided. Slum residents where usually restricted aside from special occasions being recruitment or as was the case today, execution.

We walked down the Grain Road to the Inner Grain Gate where we were padded down by two guards and shoved inside. The city center, as it always was on such occasions, was packed and was still filling up. Such clusters of people could incite violence especially among the gangs, bringing the normal residents into the conflicts of the slums. On one such occasion, I remembered, a woman's son had been executed and his mother, stricken by grief, collapsed to the ground. Few noticed her and let her be, but this turned out to be the wrong move. Those who didn't notice her, on their way out, trampled the poor woman. I remembered sticking by the gate where I was to meet Reek and saw, in the now abandoned center, the lone body of a fragile, old, women, crushed and completely dead on the stone floor.

This made me wonder even more who it was today. Who was going to be executed and more importantly, whose lives would his death affect.

Reek and I managed to shove ourselves to the near front of the crowd. The upper class let them pass as they knew of the "savagery" and violence of the ruffians of the slums.

By the time we got to the front, the whole event just started to begin.

A Fire Nation officer, escorted by 2 guards, walked to the front of the stage at the northernmost edge of the city center. The officer was lean and well built, with a cruel face bearing a smirk and obvious delusion of grandeur in his stance.

"People of Citadel!" His booming voice echoed through the center.

"Today, we come with proof of the superiority of our great Fire Nation. To those who support us, we want to say, that what we do today and every day is to protect you. Those who stand by us shall be our equals for all those who stand proudly under the banner of our proud nation are equals in the eyes of our great Fire Lord Azulon! Continue to stand with us! And you will be one of us! To those of us who stand against us, let this example of evil..." he said gesturing to a man I had not noticed standing in the back, surrounded by 4 guards on each corner. I was surprised by the number of guards attending him. The man was quite old, with a longer white beard, shaggy white hair, and obvious wrinkles and age marks on his face. He was dressed in rags, but I could still see how skinny the man was, bones visible.

The officer continued "...Is the very example of what you will become. Stand against us and we will hunt you down to our last breath. Let this traitor be an example of what we do to our enemies and what, in time, will happen to them all."

He nodded at the guards to bring the man forward. The back 2 guards kicked the man's knees in underneath him, bringing him to the ground as the front 2 grasped both of his arms, literally dragging him to the head block at the center of the stage.

"This man" the Officer started "Goes by the name Lee Shuni, but this was one of many lies. This **traitor** is an assassin sent by a cult of Air Nation extremists who wish to dismantle our nation starting by destroying our great city by allowing the Earth Kingdom to march in and kill each and every one of you! He is really monk Gyani and he wants nothing more than to see you all dead!"

This was followed by a series of booing, curses, threats, and mindless venting.

The Officer placed his left foot on the prisoner's back and stomped him down so his neck landed on the heads block.

"Any last words, treasonous scum?!"

The frail man lifted his head and for a split moment, it seemed he was looking right at me. It was as if I recognized the look, but couldn't place where it was from, but before he could think about it anymore, the man looked down, as if preparing for a speech and raised his head, this time looking at the crowd as a whole.

"Citizens of the Fire Nation, open your eyes, the Fire Nation is lying to you! Everything they say is just another lie and another deceit! Don't let them fool you any longer! Save yoursel— "He was cut off by the officer kicking him in the stomach sending him off the block. 2 guards dragged him right back.

"Headsman!" The Officer yelled and the headsman at the back right of the stage, in what felt just like one motion, donned his hood, grabbed his great axe, walked forward to the heads block, raised his axe slowly, and brought it down in the blink of an eye.


	3. Chapter 2: Aftermath

**Luke**

"Well what do you know" Reek spoke up. "The Fire Nation's lying to us."

"Who would've thought?" I continued, chuckling despite the scene that had just befallen the two of us.

By the time the guards had gotten up to pull the body away, the crowd was already turning around to get back to their daily routines.

We continued cracking jokes and laughing, but I couldn't help but shake the look the monk gave me. It was as though he recognized me, knew me. It almost felt as though I recognized **him.** I shook the feeling and kept on walking.

The headless corpse was pulled offstage by the two guards holding his arms in a gruesome display. Once the crowd dispersed, they would begin looking for the head.

We left the city center back into the slums. It was fascinating how quickly the scenery changed from wealth and power to poverty and death. The first thing I say back home was a man quite literally puking his guts out in an alleyway, skinny to the bones, reminding me that I hadn't eaten yet today and should do something to change that.

"Reek" I said. "My information?"

Reek looked at me like he had no idea what I was saying, but just as quickly recollected his thoughts and said "Oh. Right. Give me a sec. Gotta piss" before running into a secluded alley. I checked if I needed to do the same, but came out negative. I had had nothing to drink yet that day.

As I stood there, I looked at the scenery around me, admiring the wonders of 3rd world life. A man at a pawn shop flipped a sign to the side that read "Out of money and goods. Come back next month," a kid no older than 3 fought with a dog for the bone of chicken leg, and a prostitute held her toddler by his right arm, dangling him in midair while she waited on a street corner for potential customers. Shit was righteously fucked up.

I leaned against a wall next to an alley after checking inside of it for potential threats. I checked inside my pockets and recounted how much money I had. Just 10 coppers from Danev and a silver from Reek from yesterday. Word on the street was that Miro got 3 of his guys into one of Riu's stashes and stole some food to sell. I gave them the location of the stash, manpower, etc. and got a cut of the profit. It sometimes came as a wonder that despite my usefulness, nobody had had me killed yet. It was all just a matter of **not** outliving my usefulness.

I heard somebody say something to my left that vaguely resembled name so I turned how my head and prayed I hadn't just screwed up.

As if on cue, if felt two hands grab me from behind into a chokehold and drag me into the alley. I tried calling out for Reek, but it achieved nothing. I tried grabbing at my attacker's arms, but was unable to achieve anything. My arms were practically twigs incapable of acting against the slightest force pushing against me. I screwed up. I screwed up bad and when you screw up on the streets, you die.

 **Zar'un**

I re-entered my office on citadel and tried to avoid picking up a pillow and screaming into it. _A monk. A monk infiltrated Citadel._ How did I not notice? I did strict background checks on everyone that entered Citadel and especially join the army. _What was he telling the crowd? What deceit was he talking about? More importantly, what proof does, no,_ _ **did**_ _he have?_

"Zek!" I called for my ward.

He came bursting in through the door, always at the ready. "Yes sir?"

"Call sergeant Zarrow to my office. At once"

"Yes sir" he said and ran out.

Zarrow was the sergeant commanding private Shuni, no, monk Gyani. Somebody had to pay the price, but he had one last order for the man.

I got up from my chair in my office and walked to the window that overlooked the city center. The guard had just found the head and was running back to the military district's gates. _Now how did it roll all the way over there?_

I had to find the evidence Gyani had. Executing him wasn't enough. If what he had got out to the public, … Then the entire Fire Nation was at risk.

I heard a knock at my door and had to compose myself before answering. There was a certain appearance that had to be maintained at all times. I waited for the second knock and opened the door to my office.

"Captain, I swear, I had no idea that Lee- "

"In my office, sergeant" I said.

I could see the fear on Zarrow's face as he swallowed, closed the door and took a seat on the opposite side of the desk where I had just seated myself. I tried to think of what to say to start off, but the man was practically soiling himself, tapping his foot on the ground and his fingers on his thighs. I tried to think of whether to outright scream in his face or play it calm before his damn nervous antics decided for me.

"I am calling you here in regard to a certain Lee Shuni. I'm certain you're aware of what I am referring to?"

He nodded. He was sweating all over a fine leather chair. _Damn it. Never give the guest a leather chair._ Still, I smiled.

Good. Then I'm certain you're aware of his betrayal and his most uncertain demise.

He nodded again and spoke up. "Captain, I had no- "

"Silence! I am the one talking here."

He nodded and shut his mouth.

"In which room was he staying and what have you done in regard to this? You may speak."

"Room 221 sir. We haven't done anything as of yet, but we're planning to- "

"Good. Search his room from metal plating to plating. If you find nothing, burn the room. I will see that the price is accommodated for and it is refurbished.

He got up and saluted me. He turned to leave before asking "Is that all, sir?"

I thought. "No. I do trust that you will be resigning from your position as sergeant once you are completed if I am correct. **Am** I correct?"

He swallowed, moth slightly agape, and finally said, "Of course, sir."

He left and shut the door behind him. He was lucky I didn't have him executed for harboring a traitor. I wouldn't allow for such failure and treason in this city. Not if I could help it.


	4. Chapter 3: Hornets

**Luke**

I regained my consciousness and found myself befuddled that I was still drawing breath. Blindfolded, tied down to what felt like a chair, and being located in what felt like a cold and damp room, but still alive and for that much, I was grateful.

My current circumstances didn't scream safety, however, so I found myself struggling against my restraints. My 2 arms were bound by the wrist behind the back of the chair to the back legs while my 2 feet were bound at the ankles to the front legs. I was tied to the back of the chair at the chest, just above the heart. I found myself struggling with my abdomen to free myself to no avail. I wasn't strong. Not in any definition of the word. It was only when I tried yelling for help that I realized I was gagged as well. _Better and better._ As though my struggling was being heard, somebody entered the room. This I could tell by the change in atmosphere. That, and the loud ass creaking noise the door made. I stayed silent. If it was somebody here to save my sorry ass, they didn't need me to vocalize to know where I was. If it was my captor, it was probably in my best interest that I shut up and did everything possible not to annoy them.

Turns out, I'm better at not annoying people than I expected. My gag, wet with saliva was untied from the back of my head and removed as well as my blindfold. I only got a glimpse of the outside before the door was shut once again, but from what I could see, I was in the Hive. The same bleached stone walls and green shadow of sunlight against green tarp gave it away. I did nothing to indicate that I knew where I was, but slowly put 2 and 2 together in my head and concluded that this was about the Fire Nation equipment that I saw. _I should've just walked._ That's what I've been doing all these years and it's worked. _They've broken the rules too. They shot the messenger._ From behind me, Danev walked into my eyeline and checked to see if I was still awake. I was.

"You know what this is about, right?"

I nodded

"Then you know why we're keeping you here."

I figured it was an indicator of some alliance between the Hornets and the Garrison. Maybe security, police for the slums, smuggling, who knows, but I **did** know the basics. I nodded.

"Then you know what we have to do."

I shook my head. There were many possibilities that didn't involve my death many of which were going through my head as I sat there.

"We can't just let you out onto the streets, not with what you know. We can't get you out of the city. Too expensive and we don't really care that much about you. We definitely can't keep you in here forever. You have a good memory. Odds aren't good off you just miraculously 'forgetting' it all. That just leaves disposing of you.

Not consciously, but out of pure instinct, I struggled in my restraints to stand and run to no avail.

"You don't like that. Neither do I." He kneeled down so his eyes met mine. "What would you have me do?"

In that moment, I never felt so small. Him kneeling down to the ground just so he could look me in the eyes and he discussed the reasons why he had to kill me, but in that same moment, I felt like I was holding my life in the palm of my hands. The right answer, assuming there was one, would ensure my survival while the wrong one, well, best not to think of the wrong answer.

He was still looking me eye to eye, waiting for my answer.

"I could join the Hornets" I blurted out.

He gave enough of a look that he was thinking rather than just shooting it down. "And why would that work?"

"My survival would be dependent on yours. I don't imagine I would have much mobility starting off so there would be no way of telling. If I did rat out, I would die anyway. At this point, I've told nobody. There's no reason to kill me. If I'm working for you, you don't have to worry about me ratting. Not on you, anyways. The Hornets would get any information they needed from me. For free."

I tried to sound professional throughout, but couldn't help my voice from cracking at a few key moments. I hoped it wouldn't be enough to devalue my argument. The Citadel Slums knew me. They knew I could keep my word. It was more profitable for me anyway to join a gang in the long run. Neutrality wasn't a reliable position on the streets.

Danev broke his eye contact with me and kept them glued on the stone floor for what felt like hours until he stood up, turned around, and left. I was still breathing so I called it a success. For now, at least.

 **Reek**

Maybe I shouldn't have gone so deep into the alley or maybe I shouldn't have had too much to drink before the execution, but when I stepped back into the street, Luke was gone.

"Luke!" I called, but received no answers.

The denizens of the slums walked past me like there was nothing wrong, but to them, nothing was.

I made my way through the crowds looking for any gin of where he was.

"Luke!" I called again, still receiving no answer. "Fuck!"

I looked to where he was when I left to piss. He was leaning by the window of what seemed to be some sort of store. There was a sign in some gibberish that I couldn't recognize. I walked to the alley next to the store and looked down. There was nothing to see. I followed down the alley anyway. I doubted that Luke would leave. He **did** say that he had something very important to share.

"He said he had information" I said aloud to myself, thinking. "Information on what? The Hornets?"

I walked back to the entrance of the alley when I looked down and saw knife, somehow untouched lying on the alley floor; an act of some godly force that a fiend hadn't claimed it for himself as of yet. I picked up the fine blade by the handle and knew I had seen it before. It was Luke's.

"He was taken by the Hornets!" I yelled to myself both out of excitement and fear at the same time.

I had to tell somebody. Luke was in trouble and he was my friend. I had to help him.


	5. Chapter 4: Consequences

**Danev**

 _Yeah. Today's just going great._ Didn't have shit to eat this morning, got scammed by that damn kid who figured out our only damn secret and now wants to join us. On top of that, our best runner is locked in a cell for unintentionally screwing us over.

"Fuck" I muttered to myself as I made my way through the corners of the Hive to the nearest cell. Riu was specific. He wanted to see Genji before I did anything "permanent" to him. Didn't stop Aden or Meeko. They already made a mark on him. But as Riu said, nothing permanent. Just a few broken bones and some non-permanent flesh wounds. It was hard to keep kids like them in line. They grew up differently than others. I guess it depended on how they were raised. Aden's father was a retired soldier who still remembered fire bending and made sure to demonstrate that whenever his son was out of line. Meeko, he never had parents. He grew up in 3 different gangs before a foster family in the upper district had a moment of sympathy. Meeko stole whatever he could fit in a bag and left them the same night.

The situations you faced growing up defined who you were. It made Aden and Meeko who they are now. And it made me who I am as well. _I'll have to thank them one day._

I reached the cell where I was keeping Genji. It was near Luke's, but not close enough where Genji could say anything more than he already gave away. I pulled out the ring of keys and unlocked it. It was no cell. They were old apartment projects made to be ass compact as possible. Stone walls without any windows and one big ass door. It was asking to be a prison cell the day it was built. I let the door creak open to see if he was awake. He wasn't. He was huddled in the corner, chained to the wall, shaking. He wasn't asleep. He was crying. I walked up to him, hoping my footsteps would be enough, but he didn't so much as look. I had to tap him in the back with the tip of my boot before he even acknowledged my presence.

His face went from a soft red to a pale white in a matter of seconds. He had only been here for 4 hours and he was already broken. I felt bad for him. I know that what he did was unintentional, but he had hurt us in a way that, if not properly handled, could ruin us.

I used a different key to unlock the bracelets chaining him to the wall and had to grab him from his armpit to get him to his feet. He was too busy crying to walk on his own and I had to practically drag him to Riu.

I received a few ill looks from other residents of the Hive. There was never a person in the Hive who actually disliked Genji. Not until now. Still, even though his mistake was made aware of, he still managed to gain sympathy. _It wouldn't be enough._

"Danev." He muttered, choking on his own tears. "I'm sorry. I really am. It was-it was-an accident. I swear. I swear. Nobody else saw. I swear it. Really. I swear."

"I know you did. I know." I said, trying my best to calm him down.

I didn't work much at all. Genji had seen me do the same thing to others. In fact, he only sobbed louder this time. Before long, I could smell the piss he was dragging along with him across half of the Hive.

I got to the building in the middle. It used to be a lobby of sorts. In the middle of the large rectangle or apartment buildings. I recognized the two guards at the door, Salid and one we called Doormat.

"Danev" Doormat said, nodding his head to let me pass.

"Doormat" I replied.

I could hear him spit after I had gone inside. He hated the name.

Inside the lobby, the furniture had been reorganized to line the wall so in the center, it was completely empty save for a chair pushed up against an inner wall that was supposed to be a throne. I never cared for the arrangement, or for Riu's habit or blocking all doors and windows so the only light sources were 2 candles at the sides of the chair. Perhaps it was poetic in a sense, but it didn't change my mind.

I was surprised to find Aden and Meeko standing tall in front of said throne. They were most likely brought in as witnesses.

And on that thrones sat the man I was sworn to protect. The man who gave me a life more than what I had, Riu.

2 candles lit his torso, but his face was shrouded in darkness. Despite its shrouded nature, one could still make out his pitch-black hair and yellow eyes. An unnatural appearance in Citadel. Or anywhere else for that matter. He had never told me where he came from. I always figured he would tell me when he was ready. Nothing gave off the sign he had an easy childhood either. One thing was for sure, he didn't seem to be from Citadel.

"Danev" he said, his voice unusually soft for the occasion. "May I see him?"

At this point, Genji was on his knees. I wasn't sure if he was still soiling himself. If he was, it would be good for him to ruin Riu's carpeting. Nonetheless, I picked him up and half carried, half dragged him past Aden and Meeko to the foot of the chair. Judging by the smell, it wasn't going to make things easier on him.

Before Riu could even begin talking, Genji was running his mouth saying how he didn't know this, how nobody saw that when Riu did nothing but raise his hand and Aden clubbed Genji in the back of the head, knocking him face down on the soggy carpeting.

"Aden" Riu said. What happened.

Aden stepped forward as though he were accepting a reward for his courageous services and spoke. "I was standing security for the Hive under the eye of Danev as we dealt with Luke, the information broker when Genji came storming inside, blabbing about how well he had done what we asked and retrieved the supplies from the Fire Nation. Before he could continue, Meeko and I restrained him while Danev sent Luke away."

I looked at Aden and gave him a stare that felt cold, even to me. _What was he trying to gain?_ Genji had the same confused expression on his face and was already back to sobbing. "No. No, I didn't. Really. I swear" before, this time, Meeko knocked him to the floor.

"Meeko, is this true?"

He stepped forward somewhat of the same cocky confidence. "Every word."

I wanted to say something, but I couldn't. I just stood there, confused. What were they trying to gain out of this? So, what? They make themselves act like they prevented a further information leak and gain a higher spot in security? I didn't make sense. Was it personal?

Riu just sat there, chin rested on his fist and moved his hand dismissively. Genji was no more than a foot in front of me. I had to be pushed aside so Meeko and Genji could drag him somewhere quiet. The gagged him before he left the room, so his sobbing and shouting wouldn't be heard by the more sympathetic. I watched them exit the room, not sure of what the hell had just happened.

And then Riu chuckled. It felt real and artificial at the same time. Both warm and cold.

"Still trying to make sense of it?" he asked.

"You know they're lying, right?"

"That's not for me to decide. That's for them to decide."

"You know they're going to kill Genji."

"And so they should. It's his fault we're here and his fault we had to pull that grey-eyed shit off the streets. I can't keep diverting our few numbers to pick up 10-year olds off the street."

"But Genji- "

"Has become a loose end."

"I can understand why he needs to go. I do. I'm the one that brought it to you, but why the bullshit from my two guys? What are they after?"

"I can't say. It doesn't involve me and it seems more the thing that should be concerning you."

"Me."

"Yes. You."

There was a pause where we were left to our thoughts and not a single word was spoken until he broke the silence.

"Speaking of that little grey-eyed shit, what did you do with him?"

 **Luke**

The chains were strong. Not something I could ever hope to snap. The bracelet was on tight. The only good news for me its bolt connected to the wall. It was deep in, but an hour of wiggling it around had created promising cracks in the stonework. I had continued working on it, getting the bolt even as much as an inch out. After Danev's visit, he had removed the chair and chained me to the wall in a more long-term position that didn't speak well for me. I had heard sobs coming from outside that didn't help my confidence much either.

I was working at the same chains again, getting the bolt a few more centimeters out when I heard movement at the door. I quickly reverted back to my previous sitting position, but the door opened while I was still mid-transition leaving me in an awkward crouch facing the wall.

I managed to turn my head around to see Danev standing as a shadow against the light of the entryway.

"Somebody wants to meet you."


	6. Interlude 1: Mini

**Luke**

Sometimes, it's very hard to determine what kind of impression you've left on somebody. With some, they'll make sure you know right then and there. I knew this kid, few years back by the name of Mini. Emphasis on "knew" and "Mini." He was a small kid, as evident by the name. He stayed out of people's business, but would make a habit of sneaking into people's businesses and stealing what he could. He was 8. Very small for his age. We worked together on a few jobs before. I would find a store, move a few wooden planks, he would crawl in and steal what he could. It kept us fed for a few months.

Maybe somebody made a complaint, or defenses were getting lax, but the Fire Nation started adding stone layers to every building in the slums making the meat shield stronger than before. Before Riu set up shop, the biggest gang was "The Black-Eyes" because they always ended a conversation by giving the other person a black eye or some dumb shit like that. The leader was a very unimaginative 12-year-old named Greeti. Being one of the older people on the streets, he had a lot of power. A few weeks after the Fire Nation repaved the slums, his gang was barely able to steal anything so they turned to Mini. There were two problems: Greeti didn't know that Mini could only break into wooden establishments and that he always did it with a partner. Mini didn't have a choice. If a gang targeted you, you had to do what they wanted, no matter how impossible.

I didn't see him that night. They left Mini with more than a black eye. The next morning, in the slum plaza, hanging from the sign of the store he was supposed to rob, he was hung by the neck, legs, severed at the knees, cutting him even shorter, and on his chest, was a sign nailed to him reading "Failure."

I was angry and I wanted payback, but there wasn't anything I could do. I was 8, just like Mini. Even now I wouldn't be able to do shit. The world doesn't wait until you're ready. The Fire Nation, impressed, I guess, picked of Greeti and anyone close to his age in his gang. That was the end of the black eyes. It wasn't until a year later that Riu would kill a Fire Nation recruiter, gain his fame, and become the leader of the slums.

It was that same leader that I found myself having a harder time that every trying to read.


	7. Chapter 5: The Interview

**Luke**

If I had known that being interviewed by Riu would have been one of the most terrifying experiences of my life, I might have reconsidered volunteering my services, albeit it being, for the most part, unconditional.

It wasn't so much the general atmosphere that he gave off that frightened me so, but it was rather the questions. And the fact that I didn't have the answers. Made me realize just how oblivious of my own life I was.

"What's your name?"

"Luke"

"That's an odd name. What's your last name?"

"I-I don't know."

"Of course, you don't. How old are you?"

"10"

"Where were you born?"

"I can't answer that."

"You can't or won't?"

"I can't. I don't know where I was born."

"How long have you been in Citadel?"

"I can only remember as far back as 6 years."

"And before that?"

It wasn't hard to tell that he was frustrated. He wasn't getting anything particularly enlightening out of me. I looked down to the floor and shook my head.

"How is it that the only thing you know so far is your age and your first name?"

"I don't know."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him looking at Riu as though he were disappointed. I may have just gotten myself along with Danev into a world of trouble. Despite not being on the best of terms with my kidnapper I felt kind of bad for him.

"Alright then. Do you know how you got into Citadel?"

I paused and thought. I may not have known where I came from, but I did know how long I've been in Citadel. I knew my age which meant there were at least 4 years I spent outside of this city.

I remembered the ride through the gates. I was under some hay, or straw, or something. I remember that I had to be quiet for some reason. I knew that it was night when it happened. Though precisely what did happen was a mystery.

"I was brought in on a wheat caravan. Some night six years ago."

"Do you know who was with you?"

I shook my head.

"Do you remember your time on the streets?"

I shook my head. While I may have known nothing outside of my stay in the city, I was knowledgeable in my field. Everything I did and observed around me, I had to remember. If you didn't, that was something that could hurt you down the road.

"Yes."

"Good. Something you remember." He motioned to Danev. "You can leave for this."

Danev looked up. "Are you sure?"

"He's of no threat. I'm positive. Now go."

Danev left.

The moment the door closed, he resumed the questionnaire.

"Have you ever fought somebody?"

Fought was a strong word. I've gotten my fair share of beatings. From people I tried to rob as a kid to people who didn't take kindly to me selling information about them. None of them did much in the ways of permanent damage aside from a finger that still made cracking noises when I moved it.

"A few here and there, though I wouldn't call it fighting. I'm not built for that. It's mostly been me getting beat."

"I see."

Most likely the wrong answer. Who wants a fragile bitch working for them?

"Have you ever stolen from somebody?"

"I have."

"Can you be more specific?"

It wasn't a memory I liked to keep close at hand, but like all others, it was there. I told him about Mini. The individual robberies, our closeness, and his death. He knew what I was talking about. Everybody in the slums saw the corpse, but he was intrigued to know the story behind it. Who Mini ran with, who he was, and why he failed. My answer seemed to please him that time. I knew my way around buildings. I was no pro, but I could rob people if I had to.

"Last question." He said. He straightened himself for the last question as did I. "Have you ever killed somebody."

I was surprised, but unsurprised at that question. Aside from rare occasions, there were rarely murders in the slums. There were beatings, sure. Rapes, ODs, but not so much murders. Riu's killing of the Fire Nation recruiter was the first killing since Mini and it had shaken the slums. Violence increased with the arrival of the hornets. Beatings escalated, robberies, rapes. That isn't to say things were all sunshine and rainbows before them, no. It's as I said. They escalated.

"No."

Riu smiled. He motioned for the 2 guards at the door to open it. Danev practically fell inside considering he had been seemingly leaning against it from the other side. He stood to attention to listen to what his leader had to say.

"Well done, Danev. You've brought me a blank slate. Now all that's left for us to do is to paint him hornet colors."

So, I had passed. Yay me. I was now in a gang of murderers, rapists, thieves, and overall criminals despite all odds and all chances of being spontaneously killed.

The day became the night. All hornets were recalled to the Hive as a bonfire was lit in the center and I was shown off as the new recruit. Recruit. Not initiate as some of the others around the fire were. No. Recruit. I was in the Hornets. I **was** a hornet.

My introduction to the gang that night was simple. I was given new clothes to change into. My possessions being my rags and my knife that had been kept somewhere during my imprisonment and questioning were thrown into the fire along with the person I had been.

Luke, the street urchin, the information broker, was dead, turned to ash. At some point during the "feast" around the fire, I was pulled up by the wrist by Riu who pulled me to my feet as if he were showing me off to the other 25 hornets that gathered around.

"Hornets!" he yelled, gathering the attention of those who had been preoccupied. I spotted a few familiar faces. Aden, Meeko, Danev, and a few others I had seen on the streets. One that I didn't see was the kid who had barged in earlier today. The one with the Fire Nation supplies. He was nowhere to be found despite how hard I looked. Riu let go of my wrist and prepared himself for one hell of a speech.

"Yesterday, we were 27. 27 of us, brothers in rags, members of the dumpster of society, but brothers nonetheless. We came together because we put aside our differences and saw a common goal. The common goal of everybody in these slums. 'Survival.' That's all there is to it. Outside our merry band of thieves and hooligans, the rest of these slums go on their own. Sure, there are a few ragtag groups here and there, but we are no ragtag group. We are the solution to the problem in these slums and the problem beyond these walls."

He motioned to the wall that led to the outside and my head followed. With his left hand, he slapped me around the backside of my head striking laughter from the crowd.

"Not those walls." He said, and turned my head to the walls that separated rich from poor. Slums from gardens and mansions. The inner wall.

"Those walls." I whispered

"Those walls." He echoed louder. "Beyond those walls, lie the rich and powerful. Those who have never had to fight their dogs for a tender bone. Those who have never had to trek for miles to find a warm spot for the night. And beyond those walls, protecting them, is a military with no boundaries. A regime of lies and deception that treat us as a human shield."

He saw the confused look on my face. The same look that I had when I saw them bring in exposed Fire Nation supplies. Supplies hey had bartered for.

"The Fire Nation believes us to be the police force of their human shield. To make sure that it stays nice and compact. So, we play their games. We do jobs for them every now and then. We deal with people they consider threats, help them out when they need it, but as soon as we have the men and the power…" He said, turning from the Hornets to gaze at those steel inner walls. "…We will tear those motherfucking walls down right on top of them."

The cheering that followed was like none other. He had the people behind him all the way. People willing to die for their leader. He was charismatic, I'll give him that. A few more speeches like this one and he just might win me over.

"And today!" he continued. "We keep our numbers from dropping to 26. We welcome our newest friend. Our newest brother in our quest for survival and his name is Luke!"

I've never heard a chant before. I've heard cries of outrage at executions either calling for death or forgiveness, but this was a chant and it was my name.

"Luke!"

"Luke!"

"Luke!"

Generally, one might consider this a victory. An insurance of safety. A membership in such a brotherhood might do just that, but despite what they claimed, this was just another gang. A gang that had killed one of their own mere hours ago. One who had had their name chanted just as mine was being right now.

While I may have been relieved and terrified at the same time, the chant took me. I wasn't alone anymore. I had people around me and it was a pleasant change from the last 2 years. I fell asleep that night in a sleeping bag atop of small pile of hay hearing my name being chanted by my new friends and potential killers.

"Luke!"

"Luke!"

"Luke!"


	8. Chapter 6: First Day

**Luke**

I don't know what I expected from my first day. It wasn't hard for them to wake me up. I hadn't slept that much that night. They brought me up before the sun was up while the majority of the Hive was asleep. Danev, Meeko, Aden, and this other kid named Sunji. They unbarricaded the Hive entrance and we left. They left Meeko at the entrance to guard the Hive from any unwanted folk.

I normally didn't stay out during the night. It was easier to get snuck up on and I had heard bad things about kids my age who got caught while unwary. I didn't want that happening to me. The only times I had been out at times like this was back with Mini, when we were still good thieves. Nice, agile, and small. Then they started making buildings out of clay and stone and all went to shit.

By the time we had started on our general path, I had the knot in my gut that came from knowing where we were going. When we stopped in front of the sign, my worries were confirmed.

Danev could see the look on my face as I had my eyes trained on the sign. "You can read, huh?"

I looked down from the sign that read "Mishi's Scrap Shack", a general store in the slums that people robbed less due to how respected the owner was. At least that's what I heard. "Yeah."

"You know the owner?"

I sighed and said "Yes."

"Do you know why we're here."

I thought. "No."

"Good. I can't have you knowing everything right away. Nothing left to teach you." Aden took a step forward in front of our group and motioned at the door saying, "Aden. Go."

In 2 quick steps, Aden moved forward, placing a single kick at the handle of the wooden door, knocking it down into two pieces.

I said I knew the owner. He was an older man, around 60. I knew Mishi from when I was very young. Around 6. Before I knew Mini and knew how to sell anything, much less information. Mishi gave me odd jobs around his store. Cleaning, organizing, and even the jobs that required trust like taking stock and handling numbers. Mishi was also surprised with how well I could handle numbers. Said that I was like some sort of magician the way I added and subtracted them. It really wasn't much. It just came naturally to me. Mishi would feed me and let me stay in his storage room to spend the nights. The most memorable time I had with him was when his store was robbed and I learned just how awful some people could be. The thieves came inside, woke us both up and beat him up in front of me after he refused to tell them where he hid his money. I told them just so they wouldn't kill him. We parted ways a while later. I hadn't seen him until today, crouching behind his counter, watching in fear as his establishment got torn apart.

"You know why we're here." Danev spoke as he walked over what used to be the door.

"I don't." Mishi whimpered.

Danev looked to Aden and nodded his head, signaling Aden to kick in the bottom of a display shelf, spilling the contents all over the floor.

"How 'bout now?"

The man somehow seemed to shrink even more on the ground. "I'm sorry. I don't have the money. It's been real slow lately with the war and all."

Danev walked over to him, looking down and scoffed. "You mean the war that's been going on for the last 90 something years? You're gonna have to do try harder if you want us gone."

Mishi had nothing to say to that so Aden moved over to a bookshelf, pried two hands behind, and brought it down on the ground.

I looked over to where Sunji was, and he was just standing by the door, keeping lookout. He had no part in this aside from watching. Just what I used to be. A watcher.

The man was now starting to stand up, ready to reason with his attackers. "Okay. Okay. Look. I don't have much, but I have a few copper pieces that you can-"

Danev knocked his hand with the money away before Mishi could continue. "A few coppers, huh?" Aden looked over to me, smiling, and shook his head as though this were all a joke. That's when Mishi actually saw me. I didn't think he had recognized me at first, but he probably just hadn't seen me past the people wrecking his livelihood. I had to look away so I didn't have to see the hurt in his eyes. "The deal was-" Danev continued. "-That you give us a silver per month to avoid unfortunate incidents like this." And with that, Aden pulled out a small club from a strap on his wrist and smashed open the window of the shop, scattering glass across the entire store.

I wasn't going to let this go on. I didn't want it to come to this, but it wouldn't be the first time I bought Mishi's life. He had done enough for me as a kid. I still had much to repay him for. While the others were too busy smashing shit or questioning Mishi, I walked over to his store room and opened the door easy enough. It wasn't locked or anything. He only ever locked the front door. I walked in, with all of his inventory around me and bent down to find that one lighter floorboard. I lifted it up to reveal 4 silver pieces, 1 gold piece, and 9 copper pieces. He was hoarding. I'd never seen him with this much money. I took out 3 silver pieces, 2 coppers, and left the rest. When I left the store room, they were still not paying any attention as to my movements. All except Mishi who was somehow looking at Danev, Aden, and me at the same time.

I moved over to a vase that he kept. It was one he liked. He had found it on the streets when I still stayed with him. It had to be real for the others to buy it. It took a lot of willpower, by I swiped the damn vase off of its shelf and it fell and clattered on the ground, breaking loudly and gathering the attention of the others. Between the look on Mishi's face at the break, and me bending down as to make it look like I had found the money there, I would say it was pretty convincing.

I opened my hands to show the others the reward hidden by Mishi. Danev smiled as well as Aden who also seemed to be disappointed by an end to his destruction spree.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" asked Danev. He walked up to me and grabbed it all, counting though it. "Here. Keep it" he said, tossing one silver back to me. They left, leaving me and Mishi in what used to be a fine store. He was still panting from the encounter. I looked back on him with pity. I didn't say anything mostly because I didn't know what to say. I tossed him back his silver piece and left. I thought I might have seen him mouth the words "Thank you" before I left. I don't know.

The sun was now rising on a new day. Aden and Sunji were already making their own ways back to the Hive, leaving Danev in I in the center of a street now growing in number of pedestrians.

"That wasn't all the money."

I don't know if I should've been surprised or not. I didn't respond.

"If you keep on trying to ensure the survival of others like him, how are you going to be able to keep yourself alive?" He seemed angry. Not because I went against his intentions, but because he seemed more disappointed. As though I had done something utterly stupid.

"I owed him." I said, quietly.

"You owed him, huh?" He chuckled. "Owing people is how you get yourself killed. Doing stupid shit for stupid people."


	9. Chapter 7: Miro's Gang

**Reek**

It was like whoever I talked to, they refused to acknowledge my existence. I tried finding a few other of Miro's people on the streets, but it was obvious they had no love for Luke. He had bought and sold their secrets on multiple occasions to merely make a profit. Somebody like that, was lucky to have friends like me. People who actually gave a shit for him. Now he's gone. An actual friend that I had on the streets.

It took me around half an hour to realize I was walking in circles. Luke wasn't here, but he was somewhere. Even if he was dead, somebody would have smelled something by now. Somebody would have found his body. You can't just make somebody disappear. Not in the slums. It didn't work that way.

In the slums, people were cruel. People looked out for themselves. A good Samaritan was as rare as a good meal for the night, but it always existed if you knew where to look.

"Miro", I whispered to myself.

The half decent person I was looking for. I told him about Luke before. Mostly about the times he gave us useful stuff. I tried to avoid talking about why one of our safehouses got raided or why they learned about who was responsible for what. I had pleaded with him on multiple occasions to let Luke join. If Luke joined us, he would be far more useful than ever before. _He was smart, agile, quick. Almost everything you needed to survive out here. Almost._

I found the alleyway where we stayed. Now, an alley may seem like an entirely vulnerable position, but that's because we didn't stay in the alley. From what I heard, when Citadel was built, they had constructed a sewer network along with it. When Earthbenders learned about it and started entering the city through these sewers, they were collapsed and all entrances were blocked. All except for one that the Fire Nation had overlooked. Maybe it was just a stupid mistake or maybe intentional, but overlooked all the same.

I walked over to the corner where it was buried underneath piles of rubble and trash. I looked through both accesses to the street, and began digging. Sure enough, I found the cold metal, and with considerable effort, managed to get a corner off. For the rest, I pushed it aside with my foot, leaving enough of a gap for me to get through.

I kept my hand on the edge of the grating as I slipped in, pulling it closed above me. Somebody else in the gang would see the empty corner, and replace the pile. We came across very frequently. They'd find it.

The second I plopped down onto the cold ground beneath the action, I was immediately surrounded by a crowd of others. More of Miro's people. I was home.

I was met with waves, pats on the back, the usual. I wasn't anyone special here, but we were all treated with equal respect. I kept my eyes out looking for someone I knew well. Probably my closest friend in-

"Theron!" I yelled from the other side of a mass gathering as I pushed my way through to reunite with my friend. He saw me, and we greeted each other with a friendly hug that meant relief that we were both still alive. It wasn't easy miss.

"Your face." I said.

He reached up to the oversized bruise on the side of his head and smiled. "Oh. Yeah. Thanks."

"Sorry." I said, feeling kind of bad for the way I pointed it out. "It's just so. Big."

He grinned and said, "We're still talking about the bruise, right?"

"Fuck off. How'd it happen?"

He shrugged. "Looked at Aden the wrong way, I guess."

"So, you looked at him?"

"Yep."

"Figures." We laughed. "Hey, you know where Miro is?"

He looked straight to the left, pointing across the sewers to where a large group was gathered around a small podium that was just a brick large enough for him to stand on.

I thanked Theron and left, making my way towards our leader. He saw me, nodded, and stepped off, letting the others go the separate ways, leaving just the two of us. He was young, but roughed up. Dirt covered most of his facial features except for his stunningly blue eyes.

"Reek." He said nodding. "Why you insist on being called that, I cannot say."

"First word I ever understood belonging to me aside from urchin. I guess it stuck."

He smiled. "So, what's this about?"

"Luke."

He immediately sighed, rolled his eyes, and bent his head up, portraying a little more than slight annoyance. "Again?"

"It's serious this time."

That brought him to attention. "He say something good?"

"I wouldn't know."

"What do you mea-"

"He was kidnapped before he could tell me anything."

"By the Hornets?"

"Probably, but I can't say. He was there one second, I went to take a piss, and he was gone?"

"Where?"

"The Grain street. Next to a store."

He actually seemed intrigued. "Do you know which?"

"You know I can't read the signs."

"Right. Sorry."

"So?"

So, it's not exactly much to go off of. The slums aren't big, but they're not small either. Look" he said as he put a hand on my shoulder. "I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise anything, but if we do this, there's one condition."

"Name it."

"If we find him, he either stops his bullshit information broking or he joins us."

"So you finally think he'll make a good addition."

He sighed. "I don't know. It's getting worse on the streets somehow. More violent lately. And all I know is that I don't want him telling the Hornets anything about us when the time comes. Okay?"

Information broking was Luke's life. If he didn't join, that'd be over. If he did, I imagine he'd just be doing it for us. Probably better that way, but Luke was getting payed by 2 sides. Would he prefer just one? Well. There was one way to find out.

"Okay."


	10. Chapter 8: Debt

**Note:** For those who have read _A Song of Ice and Fire,_ you know how the passage of time operates, shifting from character to character where chapters may span a matter of minutes to as much as a fortnight. Time can be distinguished through mentions of events that I will attempt to include to avoid confusion.

 **Luke**

It was dark that morning. The hours shifted and now the nights came later and ended later. I suppose that it had been long enough to consider me trustworthy. It was my first night on guard duty. The first time I ever held a spear. It was twice my size, but that wasn't unusual given current company. We were all kids after all. Violent kids. Kids who had a need to defend themselves at night for fear of death. It was me, Danev, and Sunji. Since our rather unpleasant first job together, we had gotten to know each other better. He grew up on a farm, but it was taken over by the Earth Kingdom to provide food for Ba Sign Se. His parents sold him to a small factory owner in Citadel for food when he was 7. That same factory got taken over by the Fire Nation and when the owner was killed for getting in their way, he was once again without home.

It would be a sad story, but when everybody else had just a different variation of a sob story, it got dull.

 _At least I don't remember mine. It could be just as repetitive as any of those around me. Or it could be unique, I guess. Maybe I'm the reincarnation of the Avatar and I don't even know it._

A tap on my shoulder got me out of my daydreaming, or nightdreaming I guess. I looked up to Danev from the floor where I was sitting, spear across my lap.

"Shift's over. Get some sleep."

A wave of relief came over me, but it must not have been as much as it was for Danev. I'd lie if I said I made it through the entirety of the night without drifting off. I stood up, stretching the aches out of my body before asking "You going too?"

"I'll wait for the changing of the guard. Wake Sunji, get some breakfast and some sleep."

I opened my mouth to reply, but only yawned instead so I nodded in response. I tapped Sunji's shoulder from where he lay outstretched on a table, fast asleep. He was 9, just a year younger than me, but still my height.

He yawned and asked, "It's over?"

I nodded and we walked off, through the currently empty center of the ex-apartment complex. To the right of the entrance was the cells, straight forward was the lobby with the "throne room", and past that as well as to the left was living quarters. In the left-most quarters, there was also a kitchen where "Ladle", an 11-year-old with knowledge in the kitchen, would occasionally prepare meals for the gang. It was calm most of the time. It had been since I joined up around 3 weeks ago.

When Sunji and I walked in, Ladle wasn't present, but 3 bowls of cold soup were in his stead. I grabbed one while Sunji grabbed the other and brought it over to a table to eat it cold. We were too tired to heat it.

Upon the first bite, I couldn't help but notice that there was hardly any meat as opposed to normal. I wouldn't call myself spoiled, but when you have something and you lose it, you tend to notice.

"There's no meat." Sunji said, noticing it too.

"Yeah. That sucks."

"Did we not rob one of the food carriages this week?"

"No. I saw them do it. They got the cart coming through the grain road so I assume so."

"Maybe it was another road?"

"No. Food only comes through on the grain road. Weapons and armor on arsenal, raw materials on the Industrial road, and the rest on the Homeland road."

"The Homeland road?"

"Yeah. The one that leads east to the sea to the docks where the Fire Nation sends stuff from the homeland."

"Oh. That. We call it the Rich people road."

"That works too. Just as accurate."

We had finished our meals and put the empty bowls in the empty washbasin where Ladle would clean it and refill it for future use.

We parted ways considering I slept in the left apartments while Sunji slept at the others.

The apartments were made to fit up to 3 families a piece. It was a slum after all. But considering there were only 28 of us, we all managed to have our own. That in no way means I was in one large ass room. No. It was designed to fit 3 families, but that didn't mean comfortably. My room was straight above the kitchen so I was always one of the first in line for food. It was an arrangement I came to enjoy.

I came to the large wooden door of my room and pushed it open after a struggle. It seemed more like a cell than an apartment which explained why they used them for such on certain occasions. I walked in tossed my spear to the corner where my mattress lay. It rolled perfectly parallel to it stopping only when it hit the edge. I dragged myself to the other corner to quickly urinate before it returned to my mattress where I promptly collapsed and drifted off into the comforting darkness.

But sleep didn't take find me easily. I dreamed. I dream frequently. Similar dreams, too. There was always a storm. A bad one. Lightning racing across the sky, waves rolling as high as the skies engulfing anything in its path. But I dreamed something else this time. Mountains. Mountains reaching past the clouds that you could only see when you penetrated the cloudy layer. There was something special and familiar about these mountains, but I couldn't put my finger on it. There was one mountain in particular. A bit smaller than the others, but far more important, but that evaded me as well. Then, the sweet and dreamless slumber that I so longed for finally embraced me.

 **Reek**

Luke wasn't unknown on the streets. He had pissed off many people in his time. So how the hell did nobody know anything about where he was?

"Reek" Addis said. "Miro told us to help you, but we've been at this for weeks and we're no closer than we were when we started."

"Then we must be in the wrong place. We should go back to the Hive and look there again."

They stopped and the look they gave me wasn't one that comforted me.

"Reek. They already sent us away once. If we go back there, they're going to beat us. Bad. Worse than before."

"Then we sneak inside."

This time it was the other, Meerik, who spoke. "There's like over 50 of them in there. Even if Luke is in there, there's no way in hell we'll get out."

"Then we have to try."

"Who the fuck is he to you? The fuck he ever do to have you going out of your damn way for him?"

 _Something you wouldn't understand._ I wanted to punch him, but one, he was far taller than me to the point that I couldn't reach if I tried and two, he could probably punt me across half of Citadel if he wanted to. The only reason he was following me now was because Miro told him to, but I doubted Miro's word would last much longer.

"Fuck this." And with that, Meerik was gone. Addis watched him leave then turned to me. I thought for a second he might stay, but he instead just said "Sorry, Reek." And left.

They didn't know Luke the way I did. I still owed him for what he did for me. Maybe after this, it would finally be even, but I doubted that much. I couldn't begin to repay him for what he did. He stopped me from doing something that would change me for the worse. He's the reason I'm here and not somewhere far worse. I still have much to do before we're even and finding him is as good a start as any.


	11. Chapter 9: Unwarranted Hostilities

**Luke**

It was midafternoon. Somewhere around 4 or so. In the courtyard of the Hive, Danev had taken me out with 2 swords, seeming intend on showing me a thing or two.

He motioned me to where he wanted me to stand and tossed me a sword which I managed to catch by the hilt, pleasing me.

"Alright" he started. "You're one of us and we're on the street meaning you need to learn how to fight.

I had been waiting for this since I joined the Hornets. Being 10 on the street, you needed to learn how to fend for yourself. The only reason I was still breathing was because I had taken to avoiding confrontation rather than meeting it head on. Something instinctual seemed to tell me that avoiding and conflict as the right approach.

"Show me a fighting stance."

Not exactly knowing what that was, I moved my fight a bit farther apart than they were and raised by sword vertically, holding the hilt with two hands.

"Okay" he said, seemingly analyzing my footwork very thoroughly, "See the way your feet are too close together."

I looked down and not a second later did the flat of a sword come down on my wrist knocking the sword out of my hand, painfully.

The sting of the iron sent a shudder down my spine as the blow vibrated through me. I realized I was still looking at my feet where the sword lay 2 feet away. I looked up at Danev and shrugged, saying "What the hell?"

"Lesson number one, never take your eyes off an opponent. The second you do that is the second you leave yourself open to a finishing blow. Pick up the sword."

I looked to see the sword on the ground and bent to pick it up only to see a foot kick it way to the other end of the courtyard. I looked up with not the kindest eyes, but Danev seemed to busy chuckling to notice.

"What did I say about keeping your eyes on your opponent."

I sighed the entire time I walked over to pick up the sword. It was heavy. It was only iron and a short sword even more, but lack of nutrition didn't do good for anybody. It certainly didn't make them capable fighters.

By the time I returned to Danev, he seemed done amusing himself.

"Oh. You found it."

I just smiled and shook my head disapprovingly. It wasn't what I would have expected from when he said, "learning how to fight", but I was still hopeful that the useful part would be coming up soon.

"See the sword you're holding?"

I saw him already taking a few steps forward so I raised the sword in a way that I could see the blade without losing sight of him.

"Yeah. Shiny."

"Yep. The shinier the sharper. That's what my dad used to say."

"You knew your dad?"

"No, but it sounds like something he would say. Anyway, speaking of sharpness, that blade, or rather, the one your opponent is holding will be used to hack you to itty bitty pieces. Generally, you want to stop that from happening." 

"And that's what you're here to teach me."

"Precisely." And with that, he lunged forward, bringing his sword coming in from above. I was lucky to have already had my sword at around that height and brought it up horizontally to meet his, but on impact, the blade merely fell out of my hands. The pure force of the blow was both shocking and too much for myself to handle. I thought that the sound of it clanging against the ground would be the end, but when he brought the blade up for another attack, I was forced to jump backwards to avoid his downward slash.

I fell backwards, landing ass first on the stone floor. He was standing atop my sword and his kick sent it sliding perfectly next to me.

"You're supposed to be fighting. A fighter isn't much good without a weapon, now is he?

It was kind of him to give me more than 5 seconds to recover. He was already back on me while I was standing up, sword in hand.

This time, he was swinging to my right, I brought my sword up with 2 hands to meet his blade. They met, and I managed to keep my hold on the weapon despite it being knocked to the complete other side from the force.

He was swinging downward against this time and I finally managed to lock blades with him, holding it up against him. It was obvious he wasn't putting much effort into it. It seemed, actually, like he was using it to show me some-

My train of though was cut off when his free hand was balled into a fist and used to punch me right in the stomach. I recoiled and almost felt as if I was going to puke out my nonexistent breakfast. I hunched over on the ground, coughing and heaving, sword on the ground until I finally managed to compose myself and stood up, still blurry of sight and nauseous of constitution.

"You good?" he asked, not seeming sarcastic for once.

It took me a moment to gather the air to say something. "Yeah. The fuck was that?"

He shrugged. "me fighting."

"Fighting? I thought we were training. That hurt. A lot."

His expression changed to something mockingly pitiful. "Aww. Boo hoo. Training with swords hurts." He went back to his normal tone. "Guess what. When I was out on the streets, learning to defend myself on my own, I didn't have any fancy 5-star tutors or lessons like you're getting right now."

I scoffed at that.

"I got cut" he said pulling down the collar of his shirt to reveal a gross scar going around his shoulder. "I got stabbed" he said lifting his shirt to reveal a stab wound a few inches right of his stomach. "And I got- "

"I get it." I cut him off. "You're incapable of defending yourself. I get it."

He ignored the insult. "Good. So, stop fucking whining and learn something for heaven's sake.

Things continued, expectedly. This wasn't a story where the hero learns, in one training session to master the art of combat nor was it a short period of time with ups and downs out of which a better man arose. This was real life, not some play or story. I got my ass handed to me on multiple occasions. There was some blood, a few non-permanent wounds, and a shit ton of swearing, but I survived.

I was sweaty and the sword seemed stuck to my hands when I realized 2 other hornets, Heddik and Lannit, were watching. Heddik approached, hands clapping, saying "Look. At you, Luke. You grabbed the sword by the right end. I'm shocked."

"Fuck you too, Heddik, how're you?"

"I'm great. Sun's setting and time's ticking."

"What's going on." Danev asked.

"We need the swords. Fire Nation caravan just came in on the grain road. We're going to hit it."

"First one that came in 2 weeks, I murmured."

"Good." Heddik said. "He can count too."

I flipped him off.

"Anyway" he said as Danev and I handed him the swords which he divided and passed one to Lannit, "We gonna hit it and take what we can get our hands on."

"You asked Riu?"

"Who do you think told us to go?"

"Okay. Just go and do the usual. Don't take it all or we'll have the Fire Nation on our ass. Just take enough."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We got this."

As they left, I thought of how to say it, but said 'fuck it' and went for it. "Wait." I said, getting them to turn around mid-way out. "Can I come too."

"Why?" asked Lannit. "From what, I saw, you're not exactly the best fighter in Citadel."

"You could always use an extra set of hands carrying supplies."

Lannit turned to Heddik who merely shrugged and said "Fuck it. Come on."

The grain road was close, just 2 roads away. The Hive lay mid-way between the Arsenal road facing South and the Rich People Road facing East to the sea. The grain road faced west towards Ba Sing Se. The outskirts of the city, outside the outer wall was the home for many farmers who tried to take advantage of the fertile soil. The Fire Nation, on the other hand, took advantage of said farmers, extorting them for food that was then brought to cities such as Citadel.

Citadel couldn't exactly be considered a city. It was a military installation with a very impoverished human shield, but we didn't mind. Well, we did, but there wasn't much of an option. My future, at this point was looking to be one of three things. A, I stay with the hornets and rise in the ranks until somebody desires my place and kills me to get it. B, by the looks of how things are going in Citadel, I get sent to a factory for labor, but then again, there was always C, I get drafted into the army. Since Riu killed his potential recruiter, the Fire Nation became more careful on the street, explaining the amount of kids of older ages such as Riu, Danev, and a few others.

We had to be quick on our way to the Grain road. The caravans weren't fast, but they weren't slow either and this being the only importing of food in the last 2 weeks so far made it a target that we couldn't afford to miss. We were on the street where a small Hornet scout kid told us the good news that it didn't pass and that it was still on its way. Apparently, a small group of Hornets managed to stall it for a few minutes.

Thanks kid, Lannit said, tossing the kid a copper piece.

Heddik gathered us on the side of a building facing opposite of the direction the Caravan would come and he huddled to together as if to discuss a plan, which was the case.

"Okay. I'm going to get on the roof of this building. When the caravan comes by, Lannit, I want you and Luke to throw some stones and bricks at the soldiers. Get their attention. They'll chase you off and I'll jump on the back of the cart and grab what it can. Lose then in the maze of houses, come bac before they get back, grab what you can, and meet me back at Citadel, okay?"

We both nodded.

"Good."

We got into position. Lannit and I stood in an alley perpendicular to the street. We could see Heddik on the roof who was prone, watching the road. It wasn't long until he looked to us and nodded, meaning that the Caravan was near. Lannit and I stood ready, bricks in hand.

Heddik updated us again making a "3" with his fingers meaning 3 guards.

When the first crimson and black set of armor came into view, Lannit and I sprung out, immediately throwing debris at the 2 guards and the one driver who sat atop a carriage drawn by ostrich horses.

The first rock thrown by Lannit hit a soldier in the helmet sending it off his head and him falling down onto the pavement. I threw 2 at the driver, the first of which missed, but the second hitting him in the chest, hard, sending him off from atop his mount. The guards were onto us now. We dropped our loads and run, but they were quicker.

I was behind Lannit, being second to run, and had a hand pull me from the shoulder, bringing me to the ground, falling.

I saw Lannit run, oblivious of my falling. The guard stood in my sight, spear and hand and thought that I was going to be arrested until he brought the spear up, ready to strike.

Time seemed to slow and in an attempt to scurry to my foot and just get away, I rolled a bit to the left having the point of my spear rip across my right shoulder where my heart would have been had I not moved.

I don't remember screaming, but just looked to my right to see the blood flowing out of the sizable wound. I looked up to see the soldier as he prepared a more permanent strike, but was tackled from abode by Heddik who had jumped from his rooftop atop the attacker.

Lannit was back, most likely having seen I wasn't with him and was just in time to see the plan go south. The other 2 soldiers including the helmetless one who was hit in the head were now up. My attacker was down for the count.

Lannit helped be to my feet while both he and Heddik drew their weapons. _This wasn't how it was supposed to happen._

The soldiers were better trained and disciplined, but the Hornets were adaptable. One minute they were fighting, the next they were throwing bricks, and the next they were tackling their buddie's opponent, aiding one another. It was a sight to behold. It wasn't long until 2 soldiers were knocked out with a third on his knees, trying to recover from the small skirmish.

He looked around to see the 3 of us, reached for a knife in its scabbard, but immediately had his wielded knife knocked aside with the blade of a spear to be followed with a butt of a sword to the head, knocking him down. Heddik, who wielded the spear, threw it to me, which I caught.

"He's the one who cut you. What do you want to do with him?"

I could barely remember being cut. It was only when I was reminded that the returned, but what did he mean by asking me what I wanted done with him. He couldn't have been suggesting killing him, right.

I looked up to the 2 of them who had their eyes on me, waiting for a response.

"Knock him out?"

And in a moment's notice, the hilt of Lannit's spear had sent the soldier to the ground in what seemed to be a rather anticipated action.

"Grab their weapons!" Heddik said while he checked some fresh blood that appeared to be on his arm.

"You good?" he asked me.

"Yeah. I guess. Hurts though. You?"

"I'll be fine. We'll put something on it back at the hive, alright?"

"Alright. Sounds good."

I was surprised to see Heddik jumping atop the carriage, taking the driver's position.

"What're you doing?" Lannit asked

"These soldiers broke the rules. They attacked us."

"Not shit, we attacked them."

"The agreement we had with them let us take food from them and make it look like thievery. In exchange, we deal with problems on the street. These soldiers broke the rules, so why can't we?!"

Lannit shook his head, finally submitting and said "Fuck it. Let's go."

 **Zar'un**

I was in my office when a letter slipped under the door telling me to come to the infirmary. I didn't know who was giving me order considering I was the highest ranked official in Citadel, but I elected not to take my chances. I hadn't yet dressed into nightwear despite the time so I left the office a good 3 minutes after to ensure I didn't run into the courier.

I made my way right and down the stairwell to the second level that housed the barracks and infirmary. At the exit of the stairwell, it took the left to the infirmary as indicated by the sign and walked in to find what seemed like usual, being a few sick or undernourished troops here and there save for one anomaly. A group of three soldiers sitting near each other, being attended to by actual doctors rather than just physicians. I made my way through, but immediately regretted it as I had just forced all soldiers in the room, including those in no physical shape, to stand up and salute we, including the three injured who put all effort possible into their signs of respect.

"At ease" I said loud enough for all in the room to hear. I turned to the group of three. "What are your ranks?"

As was Fire Nation military discipline, they never spoke above each other, having the highest-ranking official speak first who said "Corporal" followed by another saying "Private" and the last, lying in bed who still managed to salute barely managing to say "Private" as well.

I turned to the Corporal who had a sizable wound placed on his right cheek. "What happened to you?"

"We were on Caravan duty, sir, bringing food on the grain road when we were ambushed."

"By who?"

"kids, sir."

"In a gang?"

"Looked like it."

I sighed. I thought they were all briefed.

"Are you new here."

"Yes sir. We came from Outpost "Sing-watch"

"You're Commander Singh's troops?"

"Yes sir!"

 _Damn it. I didn't tell them. Did I?_

I sighed. "This is my fault. I didn't tell you."

The looks on their faces were all the confirmation I needed that they truly had no idea what I was talking about.

"We have a deal with a particular gang in the slums, the Hornets. They make sure insurrectionist activity doesn't occur on the streets and they get to steal from us every now and then for payment as to not raise questions. A few weeks ago, some idiot kid transported Fire Nation supplies in full view of the city and we had to cover it up to make him look like a thief rather than a courier."

The way they looked to the floors showed the regret they had over the handling of the situation that had occurred earlier that day.

"Sir?" one of the privates asked. "How much were they permitted to take?"

"Of food? A few bags. Why?"

They 2 standing soldiers looked between each other, debating who would speak up. The corporal stood up. "They stole the entire cart."

I didn't know what exactly to think at that. No. I knew exactly what to think about that. I left. I was almost out of the infirmary before I managed to pull aside a nurse and asked, "What's the status of the soldiers who were beat on?"

"They're pretty beat up, but the one in bed got it the worst. He was hit in the back of the head with a sword hilt. It rattled him pretty bad. He may be concussed."

"Okay. Okay." I said before I raced back up to my office. I would need any justification I could get for what I was going to do.

I opened the door to my office and slammed it shut behind me, immediately sitting down, going through my desk's cabinets for pen and parchment.

I set it down atop the desk. They tried turning the tables. They tried taking authority for themselves. They assaulted our men and that wouldn't go unpunished.

I began the writing of order. I don't know how many drafts I went through, but got to the point where it read out what I considered to be satisfactory.

 _As of mere moments, ago, Fellow Fire Nation soldiers were assaulted in the slums by upstart gang members who attacked and injured our men and stole vital supplies. Because of their actions, we are deprived of the basic needs such as food and water that are so hard to come by in these dire times. On the morrow, under my personal command, we will march on their so called "Hive" to retrieve our equipment and imprison those involved in the attack._

But that was when a knock came on my door. I waited for the letter to be slid underneath, but when it didn't come only to be replaced by more knocking, I opened it to find the same nurse. She looked a lot different from when I saw her last. More tired. I looked behind me at the clock that hung on the far wall. 4 hours had passed. It was already morning.

"What?" I asked

"Sir." She said. "I thought you should know. The soldier's wounds were my severe than we expected. He passed away 15 minutes ago. I thought you should know.

There was a pause. So, they killed one of us. This changed things. "What was his name?" I asked.

"Sir?"

"His name?"

"Oh. Uhh. Private Li Senzah."

I sighed. There was a pause.

"Well shit. Thank you. You can go."

She went.

This changed things. This changed things a lot. I kept track of time this time. 2 hours later, a final draft was made.

 _Soldiers of Citadel. Yesterday evening, on a mission to bring food to provide us with the basic necessities of survival, our comrades were ambushed by the Hornets. We know the Hornets as the gang that oversees the slums in our name, but we have been betrayed. Private Li Senzah, soldier of Sing-Watch Outpost has been murdered by members of the Hornets. It is clear that there has been a misunderstanding between our groups, but such violent action will not be tolerated. On the morrow, under my command, we will march on their so called "Hive" and recover all stolen food, water, and medicine. As well as that, any involved in the fatal attack will be publicly executed as to dissuade any further outrages. For the Fire Nation._


	12. Chapter 10: Consequences

**Luke**

When we got back to the Hive, all that can be said was that we were greeted with surprised looks as we came in with a full carriage of goods rather than just a few sacks. The most surprised of all were Danev and Riu when they came out from their previous locations. It wasn't so much of a positive look of surprise on their face, but rather one of shock, and anger.

"What the fuck is this!" yelled Danev as he approached us. I hoped off from the back of the cart where I was seated and looked around at the combination of faces. The majority looking longingly at the newfound stash and their next meals.

"All the food we'll be needing." Retorted Heddik.

"2 or 3 sacks! The fuck is hard to understand about 2 or 3 sacks!?"

"There was…an altercation."

"An altercation." Repeated Danev. "What fucking altercation?"

"They fought back"

"They're supposed to fight back. Make it look real."

"Yeah. That's what I thought, except they chased us down and tried to beat the shit out of us. They fucking stabbed Luke"

Danev turned to me and angled his head to the side, signaling for me to show him. I pulled down my right sleeve, showing off the cut, that thanks to the leaking blood, looked bigger than it was. It caught the attention of many around me. Even those with worse wounds even felt sympathy. I was just glad I wasn't being laughed at. I'd seen people suffer much worse, but most of them didn't live to tell the tale.

"FUCK!" yelled Danev, loud enough for those past the wall to hear. "Damnit! What fucking now."

That was when Riu intervened, putting a hand on Danev's shoulder, easing him. "Relax. What's done is done. We'll take what we got inside and use it well."

"You know the Fire Nation will come looking for it."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Rose comes to worse, we bit off more than we can chew, and we'll just have to spit it back out."

Danev turned to our group again. "You-You didn't kill any of them, right?"

"No." Replied Lannit. "Just knocked them out. They should be fine."

"You better damn hope so."

I had a hard time falling asleep that night. It wasn't the cut. They put a bandage on it and it was feeling a bit better, but nonetheless, sleep didn't find me easily. The scene that kept replaying in my head was when they asked me what I wanted. What I wanted to do to the soldier. Did they want me to have him killed? Is that what they would have done?

I told them to knock him out. I could've just told them to leave him alone. Sure, they would be pissed, but he'd be better off. _I could have killed him, but I didn't. I could have done worse._ I **could** have done worse, but nonetheless, I chose to have him hurt. Was is just a split-second decision or did I want him to experience pain as I had when he stabbed me? I didn't hate him, but, it seems that I wanted him to feel similarly to how I did. _Did he?_

I lay in bed, awake, unable to drift off. I looked around the room for something to distract me of which there was none. I didn't have my own spear anymore. A week ago, some of Miro's people stole the spears off of our guards. From what we heard, they were trying to break in, looking for something. They didn't tell me who exactly it was. They knew that I used to be in touch with Miro's gang not long ago. Only around a month ago. They trusted me, but not that much. Not yet.

It was when I finally felt myself drifting off that there was a loud booming noise coming from the courtyard. I rolled off of my mattress onto the stone-cold floor and opened the door to my room, peeking into the hall. Already, other Hornets who slept in the same hallway as me were opening the doors to their individual rooms, peeking out to get a sense of what the disturbance once. One such individual was Lannit who was looking side to side in the hallway until he saw me, to which I just shrugged.

The booming noise had stopped, but was rather replaced by an ensemble of footsteps. _Miro's? No. Too organized for Miro._ That meant.

"Fire Nation" said Lannit.

Our actions had caught up to us.

I slammed the door behind me and along with the rest, we rushed outside. We were some of the last to enter which was surprising considering I thought I had been one of the first to hear, but nonetheless, we joined the group of Hornets already gathered in the courtyard, face to face with the Fire Nation.

The Fire Nation's numbers were large. Around 20 soldiers and 2 troops mounted atop 2 rhinoceros hybrids. The 2nd half of the creature, I was unable to identify.

From between the 2 lines of soldiers walked a man in a separate uniform different from those of the average infantryman. He was an officer of sorts. I took me a moment to realize he was the captain from the execution. His name had come to be vilified in the slums.

"Zar'un" called Riu from the crowd, pushing his way through to the front. "Here for your food?"

"That's only the half of it."

"The other half being?"

"Your savages killed one of my men."

Riu refused to turn his head to point anyone out, but I could feel Danev's cold stare somehow burning a hole in the back of my head.

"What makes you sure it was one of my men?"

"Our soldiers can point 2 of them out right here."

My heart skipped a beat. The odds were against me.

2 soldiers were brought to the front, bruised, badly. I didn't see the one who I had ordered to be knocked out. My stomach managed to twist itself into a tight knot within myself. It hadn't been me to deal the blow, but I felt responsible nonetheless.

The 2 soldiers looked through the crowd. The rightmost soldier pointed the 2 of them out. The one who had been knocked from the cart hadn't witnessed the fight. It was the other one, not the one who stabbed me, but the other, who did the fighting and the blaming. Yet, among those to blame, I was free. The soldier pointed out Lannit and Heddik. The only one who would recognize me was now six feet under, or, given the tendencies of the Fire Nation, ash in a vase.

As the rest of the soldiers moved forward to apprehend Heddik and Lannit, the few armed Hornets, including Riu and Danev, took a step forward in an attacking stance to defend their comrades.

Zar'un was not amused. "Hand them over"

"We had a deal." Exclaimed Riu. "We get a portion of whatever shipments come in and you leave us alone."

"And you broke that deal when you killed our men and stole more than your portion."

"Your men attacked us!" yelled Heddik, the accused, from the crowd.

I looked up to Lennit next to me, who was just still. He was scared. I could tell.

Zar'un didn't reply to him, but to Riu once again. "Where's the food?"

Riu made his decision and he pointed over to the kitchen where Zar'un diverted 5 of his men to head. When individual Hornets attempted to get in their paths, Riu was the one who called them off.

While the soldiers took our food, there was a loud silence that stood between the two armed parties, one far more heavily armed and armored than the other.

The 5 soldiers came back, rolling the cart between them up to Zar'un who promptly investigated the supply cache.

"Where's the rest?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to cut us open if you want it all."

Zar'un shook his head. "Fuck it. Now we'll just be taking the killers and- "

His movements forward were halted as Hornets took steps forward themselves, stopping Zar'un in his tracks.

Zar'un looked up to Riu who was heading the offensive. "Hand them over."

"You got your food. Now leave."

"You know it's not that simple."

"Fuck yes, it is. Leave."

Zar'un sighed and somehow gave a glare even colder. "Last warning. Hand them over."

"No."

Zar'un signaled a spearman over who already had his target picked out. He thrust his spear into the crowd, striking a younger Hornet who only fell when the spear was pulled from his stomach.

It was then that Lannit stepped forward, past the crowd and the armed perimeter, throwing himself to the cold hands of the armored Fire Nation soldiers. Heddik, reluctantly, followed. They were taken to the rear of the Fire Nation line.

"And the third."

Riu looked up from the corpse. "There is no third."

"My men saw 3 attackers. Don't hide it."

That was when Danev stepped forward and said, "You already got him." He motioned to Sunji's corpse on the cold stone floor, bleeding from a mortal wound in his stomach, already dead.

The lie was enough. "Then we're done here."

The line of soldiers turned alongside their mounted escort, and made their way back to civilization.


	13. Interlude 2: The Fate of the Slums

**Luke**

Things weren't exactly calm after what happened that night. Obviously, they took Heddik and Lannit with them, but they took Sunji's corpse too for what I could only imagine was going to be a public demonstration of sorts.

Nobody really went back to sleep after that. There was a lot of pacing around after that. A good amount of cursing, yelling, threatening, the like.

I was surprised none of the anger was directed towards myself. I assumed they were still dealing with the loss of 3 of their friends that they were too occupied to worry about the living.

It was no surprise to any of us when the 3 gongs came a few hours later shortly after the sun had risen. I was exhausted, but along with the rest of the Hornets, we made our way to the main courtyard.

Security had increased, which was obvious the moment the gate to the interior was opened, but was most obvious was Sunji's body hanging from a sign by the neck with the words "Murderer" painted on the stone next to him. No doubt Heddik and Lannit would receive a similar punishment, but considering such a punishment was being dealt on mere children was the most disturbing factor.

Inside the walls of Citadel, there was no moral authority present. Anyone could do as they fucking pleased and not get a moment's glance. That's how it was when they killed Sunji. That's how it was when they tied the rope around the neck of my two colleagues and that's how it was when the stools beneath their feet were pulled out and they were strangled to death.

The fall didn't even snap their necks. They hung there, chocking, suffocating, dying, in misery.

A few Hornets turned away. They had known the two longer than I had. Many of them liked Sunji especially. He was a good kid. His death only brought more anger than before to our small gang of children.

I don't even remember the speech that was given before the "killers" were hung. I just know that it was long and what I was thinking about during the speech and during the slow death of my friends. _This was going to happen to everyone outside these walls eventually. Maybe not execution, but definitely death. Whether its execution for crimes that exist or don't as in the case of Sunji, starvation as can be seen by the dwindling of resources, or any other means. It's coming. This city is falling apart from the inside and we're falling with it. Those trapped between the inner and outer walls are just walking corpses._


	14. Chapter 11: Lost and Found

**Reek**

I saw the execution. Everyone did. It wasn't hard to miss. Hell, I was sleeping when they signaled everyone to come to the main square. Miro, along with the rest of his crew woke to it as well. It wasn't the bell gonging that brought us awake, no. Underground, it was practically impossible to overhear if you weren't listening for it. A scout came down and woke us up. We didn't like to miss big events like this. Despite how grim they were it was the only accurate source of news in the slums. If you saw somebody publicly executed, there weren't any distortions. That's how it was.

Hanging from the top of the main gate was a body I only recognized when Garreth, another one of Miro's guys, pointed it out to be Sunji. I didn't know him really well. Saw him once or twice guarding the Hornet entrance, but nothing more than that. He was around my age unlike the others and I figured I'd try to talk to him to learn anything about Luke, but even if he did know what they did to him, I doubted he'd tell me.

Nonetheless, while I was there, I kept my eyes out for him. I had been looking for him for around a month now and he still hadn't popped up anywhere in town. People remembered him, but claimed they hadn't seen him. It made no sense. Unless he was dead of course, but I didn't see the body, so at least in my book, he was still alive.

I recognized the two getting executed. 2 more Hornets, Lannit and Heddik. No friends of mine.

"Hornets took a hit" said Garreth. "Shit not looking too good for them."

"Do you know why they're killing them?" I asked

"Shut up and listen."

I only realized then that the important Fire Nation guy on the stage was already in the middle of his speech. I'd seen him before. Didn't know his name, though.

"And it is with a heavy heart that we inform you of the death of a young soldier who only wished to serve his nation to the best of his ability! Yet for his patriotism, he was beaten to death by nothing more than hooligans with a bloodlust. His comrades dragged their friend back to safety only for him to die in their arms. No more! Never again! Our great nation will not allow such a tragedy to behold us again! Which is why I bring forth the murderers!" he motioned to the pair. "These murderers, these terrorists, will understand today what happens to their kind." He spoke to the two. "Any last words, scum?!" None answered, but stood tall and proud. Their bravery didn't last, but became fear as they choked to death, unable to reach the ground, children, hung.

The executions ended once the victim was dead. There was no speech after that. No eulogy, nothing. Fire Nation soldiers separated the rich and poor, forcing the poor back to their respective areas while the rich military families returned to their lives of comfort and luxury. Urchins who tried to sneak in with the rich were singled out, beaten, and literally thrown back into the slums.

It was on my way back, that I saw him. He was just walking, but was the same as he always was. It was Luke.

I pushed my way through the crowd, on the exact same road where I saw him last, until I was right behind him. He was near the outskirts of the crowd and I waited until a hole formed in the outer rim of the crowd, grabbed Luke by the shoulder and pushed him through, straight into an alley.

I chased after him, but before I could say hi, he had a knife in hand, pointed right towards me. It took him a good second to recognize me.

"Reek?" he said, lowering the knife.

"Is that how you greet an old friend."

"What are you doing here?" He didn't seem like himself. He wasn't wisecracking which worried me. Did he know the ones who were killed?

"Maybe the question to ask is where the fuck were you?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean?" I repeated. "I go to piss one second and when I come back, you're gone, and I only see you a month later on the same street, looking like you've just seen a ghost, with a knife to my throat. I think you owe me a fucking explanation?"

He didn't answer, but put the knife back in his pocket, leaned against the wall of the alley, and slid down the wall to a sit, sighing. "I really shouldn't be out here."

"What the fuck happened?"

"When?"

"When you disappeared."

"I got picked up."

"By the Hornets?"

"Yeah?"

"Why?"

"Because of what I was going to tell you." So, it was important than I thought. Something important enough to get him kidnapped.

"What happened?"

"It's not important." He looked at me, seriously. "I have to get going and so should you."

"Why?"

"Because."

It was then that a Hornet walked into the alley, one I recognized more than well enough.

"Danev." Luke said. "Just catching up with an old acquaintance."

"I can see that. You tell him anything?"

"Nothing that matters."

Now I was confused. I'm guessing Luke could see it considering he answered the millions of questions I had easily enough.

"I joined the Hornets."

Danev left. He didn't even seem worried about Luke which worried me more.

"What?"

"I told you."

"Why? I thought we talked about this. You said you would join Miro, join us. What changed?"

"A lot."

"What?"

"What I knew."

"What did you know."

"Nothing I should be telling you."

"Why the fuck not? Are you just one of their drones now? You seemed plenty fine with giving away all of their little secrets before. What changed?"

"I joined them."

"So, you're telling me you're now just a follower of their beliefs."

"I guess so."

"Fuck that. What does it matter. Miro's got guys here including me. We'll get you back to our hideout and it'll all be fine."

"I'm not a traitor."

"You're fucking kidding me, right?"

"I'm not. I made a deal with these people and I'm not about to go back on it. I've done some bad shit. I've stolen, robbed, hurt, and stood by while others got hurt because of what I did, but I'm not going to start betraying every other group I see just to go back to the way things were."

"Why not?"

"Because it was shit before. My job was telling everybody within earshot about their little secrets hoping that It was worth something to them. Most of the time, it wasn't."

"And you're telling me it's better now?"

"At least now, not everybody is my enemy."

"And not everyone is your friend either. At least before, you were somebody everybody went to to learn something. You don't miss that?"

He sighed. "Even if I did, circumstances are different now. That line of work doesn't pay as well as it used to. I'm lucky to have gotten out while I could."

"Why's that?"

"Look around you. Less food's coming in than ever before. Food imports are dwindling. Don't tell me you haven't seen it."

"No. You're right. I have."

"Messengers aren't getting paid anymore because there's nothing more to pay them with. If the Fire Nation doesn't kill us, starvation will. At least in a gang, I have people who will help get me fed."

"Do you really think that when the time comes, they'll be sharing their food?"

"Maybe not, but is your gang any different. If the streets are all about self-preservation, what is the safety of gangs really worth when it comes down to it?" Luke turned around to see the crowd had left. He sighed. "I'm sorry, Reek. I have to go."

"And the drone returns to his hive."

He stopped and only shook his head before he turned left on the street and returned to his new home. I knew where Luke was now, but I wasn't sure if I felt any better now.


	15. Chapter 12: An Omen of What's to Come

**Zar'un**

I sat done at my desk after the deed was done and sighed in relief. _It was over. It was done. I killed them. So why did I feel more nervous than ever?_ As I adjusted myself in my seat, I felt a discrepancy in my breeches causing me to look down and find a marron crusty stain in my black pants. _Dry blood._ Probably from this morning. _Hells._ I hadn't slept since, since yesterday morning.

I rubbed at my eyes to keep my eyes open just a little bit longer. I didn't want to fall asleep, there was too much to do.

I should've felt relieved. The murderers were caught and justice was served. Even if it was on children no older than 12. It wasn't guilt I felt, no. I've done worse, I'll admit it. I did what I did to keep this city from blowing up. Maybe it still will, I don't know, but I at least postponed it. If they could get away with killing Fire Nation soldiers, who couldn't? I had to make the consequences known as to dissuade further violence.

Violence is still going to happen, no doubt. Food **is** running low. I heard the reports from our outposts outside Ba-Sing-Se. They've been making their final harvest, carrying their food and equipment inside the massive walls, burning and salting the farmland behind them.

The only success we've been having is intercepting the farmers for their harvests before they enter the city. I've heard rumors from our outposts that within the great city, they were unaware a war even existed. How the hell could they not have noticed? What were they doing with the thousands of refugees fleeing from the carnage? Maybe I didn't want to know.

But when it came to food, the situation was bad. Very bad. I don't know how much longer we can stay fed. The Homeland isn't a big exporter of grains or livestock. We've been relying on Earth Kingdom land for that. But now, but now, even that is becoming less reliable. One of these days, the last farmer will pack his things and enter the city. Even those loyal to the Fire Nation will become less reliant on us, and see better opportunities within the walls. And when that last farmer leaves, this city will be on its own, and those inside will be killing each other for the last grain of rice.

I did was I thought was necessary, but I was just postponing the inevitable. Without new trade routes, without new sources of food, this city will fall, and it will fall right on top of me, where the Fire Nation will blame me for its failure and It'll be a downward spiral from there, assuming I lived to see a future beyond this deathtrap of a city.

 **Reek**

When I got back to the sewers, I don't know exactly how I felt. It felt good to be back, but I felt like I had been punched in the stomach nonetheless. Luke was a fucking Hornet. I knew he did business with them, but joining them? I wouldn't have seen it coming. I didn't like it. I can't say that I knew the Hornets better than him because I didn't. We've been around to see the same shit. We both know that the Hornets have done some messed up shit, so why did he join?

He says he had no choice, but he's been in situations like that before, but he always found a different option. Was he tired? Was he scared of being alone? Hell, why weren't **we** the ones to pick him off the street. Why wasn't it us who recruited him. It would be him **here** instead of in the fucking Hive.

Miro must've seen me and how stressed I look or he wouldn't have stopped by and sat down next to my pile of trash where I slept. "Is something wrong?"

I sighed. There was no harm in telling him. I knew Miro. He was my friend and my leader. Somebody I could trust. That was becoming more and more rare recently.

"I found Luke."

"But you don't seem happy about it."

"I don't"

"Mind if I ask why?"

"He joined the Hornets."

He didn't seem shocked about it. In his mind, if he wasn't here in our hideout with us, he was probably dead or with the other side.

"Lately, there's less and less people independent on the streets. They're being forced to pick a side out of fear of being left behind when all goes to hell. We've been getting more and more people looking for us. Looking for a group to help them. They want somebody strong, but somebody that won't kill them for looking at them the wrong way. Luke, I doubt he was given much of a choice. If the information he had was as important as you say, the Hornets were either willing to recruit him or kill him. He did what he needed to do to survive, just like all of us."

"But he's being selfish. He was too scared of what they would do if he didn't become their lapdog."

"Maybe, but sometimes, other options become blurred, and you have to think on your feet to live."

"But that's not what you do. You help people other than your followers and yourself. You give people a chance to survive on their own. You save people."

Maybe he was flattered. Hel, maybe he was blushing, but it was too dark to see. His face seemed to remain unchanged. That was probably the truth of it.

"Go to sleep, Reek. This city is sinking and we'll need all of our energy to stay afloat."

 **Luke**

If my opinion of Riu hadn't changed from when I only knew his name and reputation, I would've thought that the first thing he'd do after seeing three of his group killed would be to strike back. Hard. But it turns out, he's different than what he's known by. In all fairness, he's known by 2 things in Citadel: Leader of the Hornets, and the one who killed a Fire Nation Recruiter. One would think that the first impression is always the defining one, but that wasn't a first impression. That wasn't aa rumor either. He **did** kill him, but one action can be viewed as brash and an entire lifeline can be viewed subjectively from one event, but that'd not really fair, is it?

When we all returned to the Hive, the first thing he did was count our numbers to see if we were all present. 24. It was 26 this morning. 27 yesterday. It wasn't a great trend that was going on.

"I know…" Started Riu "That we're all going through what just happened over the last few hours. They were our friends. Closer to some than others, but he was our friend nonetheless. I know you want revenge. I do too, but doing something now will only get more of us killed. We're not backing down. Not at all, but things have just gotten a lot harder for us. We all know that food is starting to come in less than less. The Fire Nation isn't willing to share anymore. But we will not starve. I'm aware that some of you didn't know about my deal with the Fire Nation. I just wanted us to stay fed in a world where food is becoming more and more of a luxury. That doesn't change the fact that I should've told you all. Now, 3 of our brothers are dead and I cannot help but feel responsible, but the Fire Nation won't get away with it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but the Fire Nation will remember what they did and they'll remember it as the day when everything began to fall apart for them. We're just a gang, I know. We're just a small group of street urchins, but we can make life hell for them just as they've made our lives hell by putting us in this shithole of a city. Starting today, It's just us. We can't afford to feed anymore people. We'll make do with the numbers we have. 'Do more with less' as they say. I'm just sorry that it took the deaths of our friends to show us this lesson."

"From this point on, we're all that matters to us. Nobody else. We look after each other because we are a team. We don't lie to one another, we don't steal from one another. We're a family and the Fire Nation wants to destroy our family, but that won't happen. We put up with the hell of this city, I think we can last a little longer. Am I understood?"

As the cheers for Riu went up, I found it more and more hard to tell that we were just kids. The oldest of us was 14 being Riu, but when you grew up in a place like this, you weren't given a choice as to enjoy an actual childhood. Any actual children in this city were either dead of living it up in the military district, playing with their toys, listening to their stories, or sucking on their mother's tits. It didn't matter now. Children can be dangerous. I don't know how well the Fire Nation understood that. I guess there was one way to find out.


	16. Chapter 13: A New Stage

**Luke**

The view from the top of the outer walls made everything seem smaller. The homes, the streets, the people. Even the world past the walls appeared to be the backdrop of some child's playset. The river, the forests, the grasslands, the towers, the soldiers, the burnt-out farms, all of it. From the top of the walls, it seemed you could just jump down, into the green of the outside world and never come back, but assuming you found a way to even get down alive, there were guards.

People weren't allowed to leave the city anymore. The last people who tried were hauled back in on chains and thrown in the middle of the slums, hands and feet still bound. Being the charitable folk we were, we helped them best as we could. And by that, I mean us Hornets stole all money the Fire Nation had left on them as well as the literal clothes off their backs before taking the chains off and taking them back to the Hive for our own uses.

It's been a month since the last food supply came into Citadel. Of course, given what happened last time, we didn't interfere. That wouldn't end any better than it had last time. Food was now the number one concern in the slums. The military district was fine. The military families and their children were well fed, at least from what we could see. Street urchins weren't allowed into the military district anymore which meant recruitment and executions were no longer public affairs. The last time there had been an execution, just a few common thieves who stole from a rich soldier's wife, a few slum kids tried sneaking away amongst the rich. Obviously, they stood out like a sore thumb, were caught, lashed, and thrown back into the streets they called home. That wasn't to say the Fire Nation had just suddenly stopped "enacting justice," no. They still did it. it just wasn't a public spectacle any longer.

"Let's go." Danev said. "Fire Nation patrol's comin' back 'round."

Technically, scaling the wall was a criminal offense. Although we hadn't scaled it, but rather just taken the stairs furthest from the gate. Riu's been having his Hornets go up atop the outer wall from time to time to scout the inner wall and military district. For what, I wasn't really sure.

The streets were filthier than ever. Half dead bodies littered the street from old starving men to young boys. There were older women, but hardly any little girls around. Plenty of filthy boys running around, looking for the first meal of the week, but the only women on the street were hardly distinguishable from the men. Just as few teeth and just as abused bodies. It's wasn't the most beautiful of sights.

The Hive itself wasn't in the best of state either, not that it had ever been a palace or anything. The walls were eroding. Holes were appearing in the apartment complex. One hole led directly to the mess hall and had been merely patched with a dining table turned on its side.

Ladle wasn't particularly pleased about the quick-fix, but Danev argued that until they took over a quarry and started getting their own stone imported, there was nothing they could do. That shut Ladle up well enough, sending him back on his more tedious job of keeping the Hornets fed.

There were 22 of us left now. Sanjay just left in the middle of the night while "Light-head" died of sickness. The name was funny for the first few days when "Light-head" started suffering of "light-headedness." It was funny until the real flu came along, he started puking and coughing up blood, and finally died in the night. We all thought it was the food, but we didn't exactly have any alternatives. We ate the food anyways. We were just more paranoid now.

On the way back to the Hive, Danev took me aside. He didn't have the tell me for me to see it. A child from the military district. In the slums. It was a common criminal's wet dream. It made sense though. We were travelling along the inner wall. Just another part of Riu's "plan." It didn't take planning at this point. Planning took too long and the more you waited, the higher the odds were of some random asshole coming by, shanking the kid, and taking his stuff for himself. You couldn't let an opportunity like this pass by.

Danev and I split apart. I stalked along close to the stone homes along the grain road. Danev's whistling caught the overweight's boy attention, drawing his eyes toward him. I crawled behind the boy, huddling up and planting my body behind his legs, keeping my head at an angle to see Danev at work. Danev closed the distance between himself and the boy, striking conversation that I couldn't make out at the moment. Danev pointed up towards the top of the inner wall, the source of the boy's newfound attention. Distracted, the boy found himself pushed over, my body tripping him until he fell flat on his back, seemingly shaking the earth itself upon impact.

The boy's overweight carcass had rolled me onto my stomach, but somehow, I managed to wriggle myself from under his legs and planted a fist into his stomach, keeping him on the ground. Danev rushed over to my side, pinning the boy's forearms to the ground while I rummaged through his belongings. 1 silver, 3 candy bars, and a Fire Nation soldier toy. I took it all. I was moving on to the boy's shoes, holding down his leg with one hand and unlacing his shoe with the other until a woman's scream shouted from behind me along with the rushing of Fire Nation soldiers.

I dug my new belongings deep into my pockets, but left the shoe, out of time, making a run for it with Danev who was close behind. The last thing I saw was the mother hugging her sobbing boy as 1 soldiers stayed behind to help the family while the fest followed.

It wasn't a challenge at this point. We knew the slums better than they ever would. The maze of cheap housing projects and crumbling homes confused those from the inner city, but not us. We had lost them after a minute of pursuit if not less.

We only dared to catch our breath when we were back at the hive. Anytime sooner and there were other threats aside from Fire Nation. I was still pissed at myself for not getting the shoes. My sandals were down to the straps that went above the foot. Calling it footwear was too much of a compliment. I planted myself on a seat in the mess hall of the Hive across from Danev, finally letting myself catch some air. I could have really used some water, but it hadn't rained in the last week. Urine didn't work out to well. We've resorted to using sewage water. We found an open grate near the Hive that we used, but some Hornets were paranoid as they insisted that they could hear talking and walking down there. Riu shut them up easily enough and we now had semi-reliable semi-safe drinking water. At this point, anything sounded good.

Ladle brought us both over 2 wooden cups of waste water. He was kind enough to remove any solid waste before serving it to us, but he sometimes missed a bit. You were taking a chance with each gulp you took. I removed the contents of my pocket and laid out the loot on the table between Danev and me, letting Ladle take one of the candy bars. I didn't mind. I still had one for myself and one for Danev.

"What did he do to earn that?" grumbled Danev. I raised my cup whether as a show of Ladle's work or as a toast, or maybe both. Danev seemingly took it as both as he silenced his complaints and knocked his own wooden cup against my own before taking a prolonged and risky swig.

I ate the chocolate bar, trying to remember when was the last time I had eaten any meat. It had probably been around 2 months ago when we attacked that Fire Nation convoy, taking all they had. There was some good venison and beef in there, most of which we cooked in a nice feast for ourselves the night before-. _The night before they took the food and the lives of Sunji, Heddik, and Lannit._ I took a swig as though it were alcohol yet it eased none of the memories as alcohol did.

I missed them. I missed good food. I missed Reek. There were a lot of things I missed. Few of which I would ever get back. I hadn't seen Reek since he learned of my allegiance. I assumed he gave up on me and went back to wherever Miro's gang hung out. They barely appeared in the streets anymore. It was strange. Worrying even. Of all the things I missed, I missed the past. Things were better. Food was less of an issue. My safety wasn't always in question as the "gang war" kept me in once piece in terms of health and economics, but things were changing and I was changing with them. For better or worse.

 **Zar'un**

"A siege?" I asked, still looking at the letter. "Of Ba-Sing-Se?"

The Fire Nation lieutenant nodded. "Yes. It began 3 months ago. General Iroh has laid siege to the city. No food is going in or out as well as any manpower."

"So, it's all going to his siege camp I imagine."

"Yes. The men require food if they are to remain healthy to invade the city."

I read the paper over again, still baffled, still feeling as though I had been punched in the gut. "So, this is where my food is going?"

The man looked surprised. "I'm sorry. Your food?"

"The farms on the eastern outskirts of the city. They were under my protection, bringing food into this city. Is this why my city is starving?"

"Sir, this is Ba-Sing-Se, the Earth Kingdom Cap- "

"I know exactly what it is and I **do** know that it's never been taken before. I know of General Iroh's reputation, but tell me, _lieutenant,_ how exactly does the Dragon of the West plan on bringing down the great walls of Ba-Sing-Se?"

"It's-It's not for me to say."

I sighed, planting the paper on my desk in front of me. "I see. Tell me then. I could've been given this exact news and had even more of my questions answered by a messenger hawk, so why send you?

The man sighed. _So, this is where the real news begins._ "General Iroh has instructed me to gather able-bodies soldiers from your garrison to assist in the siege."

I sat down at my desk and placed a hand on the part of my head that was suffering from more pain than usual at this moment. "I can give you the men from Outpost 'Sing-Watch', but beyond that-"

"General Iroh requests three quarters of your garrison"

The pain shot back and I stood up in unison, sending my chair crashing to the hard metal floor. "You're insane."

"I've been instructed to assume command of your garrison and send three quarters to General Iroh for siege instructions."

"So, what you mean to tell me is that you come into **my** city, intend to take control of **my** garrison, and send **my** men to die on the walls of the Earth Kingdom city that's never been conquered."

"It's the heir to the throne's orders!"

"Fuck the bloody throne. Does the throne know that we are starving because he's throwing blood bags against a stone wall for the 7th time in our campaign, hoping to achieve different results?"

"This conquest is the plan of Fire Lord Azulon himself!"

"I can give you my 30 men from 'Sing-Watch'. Beyond that, you're on your bloody own. I'll bring it to General Iroh's attention that he isn't the only Fire Nation force within a thousand miles of the wall. I'll send the men along this afternoon."

"I can bring the men and relay your message to General Iroh."

"No need. I'll send a hawk to do the job."

"My lord, I'm perfectly capable of delivering a message."

"You're perfectly capable of doing whatever your leash-holder tells you too just as we all are. I'd prefer to talk to your owner directly rather than having his pet translate for me. As for my men, I have full confidence that they can read a map on their own. And in regard to my garrison, you're welcome to grab a spare uniform, but as long as my garrison is within these walls, they're under my command and none others save for the Fire Lord. Is that understood?"

He wasn't happy. I could see that. He missed a promotion and a chance for power and recognition. I didn't care. If he wanted power, he would earn it, not have it handed to him on a silver platter. "Is that understood?" I repeated.

He sighed and looked up. "Sir. Yes. Sir."

Normally, the answer would have been a reassurance, but the way he spoke it made me feel as if I had one more item on a list of things to watch out for.

 **Reek**

When Miro told me that today was going to be the start of something new, I didn't know what he had met, but now, when I saw the emblem of the Earth Kingdom printed on the crates that had been snuck into the sewers, I knew what the food and medicine had really meant.

"The Fire Nation's time in CItadel is coming to an end" he told me. I'm not sure if there was news from the outside i hadn't been told about or if we were going to be the cause of the Fire Nation's end in Citadel, but I had seen what happened to people possessing contraband. Something simple could get you lashed in public, but aid from the enemy, well, I can still see the bodies hanging from the gates.

I don't know if the others shared my doubts about what we were doing, but none voiced any complaints. None of us had any love for the Fire Nation, that was true. Especially considering we were prisoners held between luxury and freedom, but in the end, our love for self preservation outweighed our hate for the Fire Nation.

We were part of something bigger than us now. What that meant for us was up in the air and while I feared what will become of us, the Earth Kingdom had given us something we never had before. A chance.


	17. Chapter 14: Questionable Methods

**Zar'un**

I was a patriot. A patriot should feel overjoyed when he hears that his enemies' defeat is upon them, and maybe I am happy. Proud even, but what victory or defeat of this siege means for Citadel, for the citizens within the inner walls, for me, disturbs me.

I can see things going two ways. One, we somehow breach the walls of Ba Sing Se. A battle ensues and thousands if not tens of thousands of lives are lost on both sides. Maybe we win. Maybe we get through the outer walls with half of our soldiers alive. Then what. There are miles of country land between the outer and inner walls practically devoid of cover aside from some towns near the inner wall. Fire Nation citizens will be subject to catapults, archers, infantry attacks, and Spirits know what else. So if by some miracle the Fire Nation makes past the outer and inner walls alive, the Earth Kingdom will retreat. Sure, they'll hold the city for as long as they can, but they know the terrain, they know the city streets. They'll get out of that city with their lives only after taking hundreds of our own.

And then where does the Earth Kingdom go? From what the reports read, the Fire Nation is besieging the city from the West. They don't have nearly enough men to surround the city. That would take hundreds of thousands if not millions. The Earth Kingdom most likely retreats West, towards me. Towards Citadel. Me and my garrison of no more than 50 men would get slaughtered. Steel walls didn't matter when you had nobody to man them.

Then there was the second possibility. Much more simple too. We fail the siege, the Fire Nation army is shattered, the Earth Kingdom grows emboldened and decides to take their territory back. And what's the closest city built upon "stolen" territory that they can see? Of right. Citadel.

And I had only one weapon against both of these possibilities. This weapon came in the form of the poor and famished. My own personal human shield. The Earth Kingdom wouldn't besiege a city with thousands of their citizens flooding the streets. The inner part of the city was housed by Fire Nation citizens, the outer section, the slums, just kidnapped civilians from Earth Kingdom villages. They made for good protection against any attacks.

But now, however, my human shield was dying. Because the food I used to rely on coming into the city was being diverted to a siege doomed to fail. If I lost me one weapon, my one protection, this city would fall as soon as the Earth Kingdom arrived, and it didn't take a genius to see that.

It was this same deduction that got me here. I had to find a way to feed my people. On way or another. Outside the door leading to my office, I had two representatives of an organization known as "RFA" or "Relief for All" waiting. The Fire Nation wasn't particularly fond of this organization. They had a habit for providing relief for the impoverished, making them less likely to submit to Fire Nation authority, but right now, I saw that I had no choice.

The RFA wasn't affiliated with an nation, but they merely claim to want to help all those in need, hence the name. I looked up from the reports I had been reading and nodded my head to my steward to open the door. The boy did as he told, opening the door and stating that "Captain Zar'un was ready to see them."

The two women, dressed in nuns attire strolled in and sat in the seats I had motioned to them only after bowing out of respect. I wasn't sure if this is how they always acted of it is was a mere play to get on my good side. It wouldn't work. I would wait until I had heard what they had to say and saw what they could do.

There was a silence before anyone spoke. I was expecting thanks for being plowed to come. That's the greeting I usually received. Thanking them for coming first would immediately reduce the authority I had in the room. So I waited.

None spoke. Fuck it. "It's a pleasure to have the nuns of the "Relief for All" organization attending us in our great city this fine day."

The oldest one seated to the right spoke first. "And it is a pleasure to be here. We only hope that we can help the people of Citadel return to good health and safe living conditions."

"Don't we all. No doubt you are aware of the toll the war has taken on my people. I hope to see them return to safe and healthy living. Is your organization up to the task?"

"Our organization does indeed posses large stocks of food donated to us by charitable farmers of all nations, save the Air Nomads of course."

I wasn't sure to take this as a slight or simply a sympathetic statement. "The Air Nation army was a threat to all of us. We took the initiative that was needed to safeguard our Earth's future."

"Of course, but the fruits that had used to come from the Air Nation are no longer a luxury we have access to considering the Air Nomads, our most charitable donators are now extinct."

"If you have a point in bringing up ancient history, I recommend you make it, quickly."

"We require payment to buy new food and medical supplies if we are to preform the task you wish from us."

Of course. Nothing's ever free in this world now is it? "How much are we talking about?"

"50 golden pieces a month is all we need to remained stocked on food and medicine. It's not a high price to ask especially from the Fire Nation"

I kept my posture even though I had wanted to lean back and take the rest of the day to do the math and see how long I could keep paying them. Our coffers were running dry even now. The factories in the military district were having trouble exporting goods to the Fire Nation with an increasing presence of pirates in the Eastern sea.

"Alright. We can handle that."

"Then of course there's the matter of setting up a distribution center which we believe would-"

Fuck that. "There's more than enough abandoned buildings in the slums for you to chose from. Any additional resources you need, you can take from the forest beyond our walls or mine from the hills. You have the money you need for food and medicine. Put it to good use"

They stood up and bowed saying "We thank you very much for you care and consideration" before the reared out the door, heads still lowered, and left.

I never liked nuns.

 **Reek**

I saw a soldier today. Apparently, they were from the Earth Kingdom. That's what Miro told me. When I asked how they came into Citadel, he told me that they were something called "Earth Benders" and could move rocks and dirt and stuff like that around without touching them.

I knew he was lying, but it was still cool to think about. Miro was nice. Really nice, but he always treated me like I was a really little kid like when he would tell me these kind of stories.

The soldiers probably dug under the city. I had a friend who told me about a guy who escaped a Fire Nation jail by digging out. These Earth Kingdom soldiers must have done the same thing because they made a tunnel to the sewers that we could see, but even if we asked, they wouldn't take us with them. They would close the tunnel behind them so we couldn't go which didn't make sense because we could escape that way.

I asked Miro why we were saying and he said that in exchange for giving us food, the Earth Kingdom would ask us to help them with something sometime in the future. I didn't know what. I knew that the Earth Kingdom was the enemy of the Fire Nation so maybe they wanted us to steal something or kill somebody, but we were finally getting food so it would be worth it. But Miro saw it differently for some reason. He seemed nervous about it. I asked him why and he just told me that "It was complicated".

Miro called us together that night. There weren't many of us. There never were. I could only count 14 of us, but I never was really good with numbers, I had just heard Miro tell me that number last time I asked him, but nonetheless, we gathered together. I knew everybody here. There was Janick, Miro's closest friend and the person he listened to the most. He was always at Miro's right side whenever something important was happening. There was Mouse too. It wasn't his real name. He was just real quiet like. Of course then there was Sarik. He was more brash than the rest of us. He got angry easy and always seemed to explode when something happened that he didn't like.

I knew everybody here. I knew some of the people who weren't here anymore. I liked these people. I grew up with them before we were even a gang, but just close friends trying to survive.

Miro spoke. "You all know that the Earth Kingdom has been talking with us lately. We all know that the Earth Kingdom has been helping us get food and medicine that we need to survive, but we also know that the Earth Kingdom isn't exactly a friend of the Fire Nation. So we've made a deal.

"In exchange for doing jobs that the Earth Kingdom needs us to do, we will continue to get what we need to live. It will be dangerous, but at least now we'll no longer have to worry about where to find our next meal. Get some rest tonight. We'll need our energy for the days to come."

None of us knew what exactly o make of the words that were spoken to us or even the emotion that he displayed. He was scared, which none of us were used to seeing.

But I didn't let that bother me, because for the first time in weeks, I slept with a full stomach.

 **Danev**

"I saw the new building the've been setting up. It looks like they're almost done." I spoke to an Riu seated in the es hall. He had abandoned his mock throne room and rather stayed in the open which I made very clear to express how bad of an idea it was, but he would have none of it.

"You told me about the resources coming in 2 weeks ago. Said it was lumber and stone, right?"

"That's right." I didn't wait for him to ask the next question. "As well as that, they were bringing in food guarded by the Fire Nation. The carts were covered, but I caught a glimpse underneath the tarp. Could've sworn I saw some apples, but it's definitely guarding by Fire Nation."

"So it's Fire Nation supplies?"

"I don't think so. As well as Fire Nation soldiers, there were nuns and priests in white robes escorting the food."

"You said the carts were covered, was there a standard on the tarp?"

"A standard?"

"You know. An insignia?"

"No. It was just a white blank tarp."

"I heard rumors a few years ago about a long gone nation known as the Air Nomads. Did you see them able to move the air?"

"What?"

"Never mind. It's not important."

"Remember that clinic by the grain street that the Fire Nation burned down for offering illegal medicine?"

"I do."

"That's where they're bringing the food and construction materials. It looks like they're setting it back up."

"And you said the Fire Nation was supporting them?"

"It looks that way. They were guarding them beyond the wall and as they moved through the slums."

"Where do they keep the food? Obviously this clinic, or whatever it is they're setting up isn't done being built just yet so the food can't be too secured."

"I couldn't see where they brought it. I lost them in the alleyways, but I didn't see the Fire Nation soldiers come back out the way I last saw them go, so I assume they're keeping guard over it."

"Damnit. Alright. You keep doing patrols around where you lost sight of them. Search the alleys, the rooftops, find houses that seem more secure than most. If we can find that stash, we might be able to grab some little by little without them knowing."

"You want to do anything about the convoys?"

"Not yet. It's too dangerous and too open. I don't want a repeat of what happened last time, but yeah, keep an eye on it. I want updates. Sound good?"

"Sounds good."

"Cool. I think Trap caught a rat the other day. Tail might be left. I'll tell Ladle to cook it up for you."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

 **Luke**

Trap, well, he wasn't the most stable of individuals. He was easily excitable, easily angered, and very openly emotional. Never really somber. It was either joy or anger. He wasn't a big person. He was younger and smaller than me which was a welcome change.

So why did we keep a mentally unstable extra mouth to feed around? Well, he gave our mouths something to feed. Hence the name, Trap was great at trapping things. Really. One would think he'd gotten an education on it, but when I asked, he just said that it was simple.

He's been keeping us fed on rats for the last 2 weeks, around the time Danev said he saw supplies coming into the city again. Watching that first rat roast on a spitfire was the most apprenticing thing I had smelled or seen in the last month and even when it was split amongst the 22 of us, I would have happily died there with a somewhat filled stomach.

Today, when we heard Trap's shout of glee from the abandoned part of the apartment complex. The group of us that weren't out of the Hive or asleep usher down to see what we would be eating.

Yet when we got there, there Trap was, kneeling by the caught rat, watching. It was big. Really big. It could have been split 5 ways right here and be considered a feast, but Trap hadn't killed it. He was watching it.

"Holy hell" I heard Ladle said. "That's perfect!"

"What are you waiting for, Trap? Kill it!" I said.

"I think. I. I think I'm gonna let it go.

What? "No." I said. "Fuck that. That's the most food we're going to get any time soon. Kill it now and let's eat it."

"No no. Really." He said defending itself. "If I let it go. I might think its safe and lead more here.

"That's not how it works, Trap." Said Ladle. "They don't think like that. They don't think at all."

"No really. I shouldn't have killed that first one in the first place or we'd have even more now." He paused then reached down. "I'm letting it go."

Ladle, obviously pissed, kicked a rock across the building and walked away, grumbling.

The rat scurried out as soon as its tail was freed, sniffed the ear, and retreated into the cracks of the wall. And that was dinner that had just ran away.

"Trap." I started, only half joking. "You better be right or I'm eating you."

Trap, turning around from where he was crouched chuckled and said "I'll be right. Just watch."


	18. Chapter 15: New Discoveries

Updated with 2 New Chapters

 **Luke**

"There it is" I heard Danev tell me. "Same time as yesterday."

I saw it. It came through the grain gate. Watching the solid metal gate rise, accompanied by the screeching of metal meant a different thing wherever you were in the city. Yet here we were. On this street however, it meant one thing. Life. As dramatic as it sounded, that plain and simple was how it was. Others who knew by heart what the ear wrenching sound of metal on metal meant were already gathered around the cart, only to parted by what I counted to be 12 Fire Nation soldiers and some strange men and women wearing white robes that I didn't recognize.

The unusual street urchin who got too close to the bounty would be shoved back by the muscle of the caravan. After an idiot kid tried to jump on the cart was quite literally picked up and thrown a block down the street, there wasn't much interference. Nobody left in Citadel's slums were particularly fit anymore. Even Danev who had used to be well built was somewhat boney now. His muscle mass had died down and much like myself, his ribs were becoming exposed. It wasn't exactly morale boosting to see that happening to yourself especially when fucking Trap had his damn ideas about drawing in more Rats by letting the big ones go. Aden nearly strangled him when he saw what Trap was doing, but Danev stopped him. Said "food might not be an issue for long." I saw what he was talking about now.

"How do you know there's food inside?" The cart was covered by a white tarp. Nothing could really be seen underneath it.

"I saw some fruit beneath the tarp. We're going to see if we can follow it and confirm."

I nodded my head. The plan meant we'd be close to food which meant I'd have a chance to grab something if I was lucky. It was a chance that sounded good to me.

We stayed on the rooftop where we were. The small abandoned church bell tower was the only structure left in Citadel with 3 stories. Luckily enough, It was right by the grain so it made for a good vantage point.

We followed the cart with our eyes as it moved through the alleys, Fire Nation soldiers guarding the entrance to the alleyway. It didn't stop the urchin here and there from taking different routes. Some even took the lower rooftops. When Danev saw the carts where I assumed he had lost them last time, he dropped down from where he was to the top of the 2 story church and slid down the remaining shingles on the roof, jumping across an alley onto a 1 story slum house roof.

I followed suit. Being agile was a good help especially considering my previous occupations relied on me moving around quickly whether it was running to or from theft victims, or to hear whatever important information I could from around the city. While I missed the ease of life in being an information broker, there was no doubt that my current position brought certain insurance and benefits. Especially considering the Hornets and Miro's gang had entered an armistice of sorts, and by armistice, I meant they were too busy finding food to be fighting each other, information would be lacking and I would probably be a corpse in an alley somewhere. _That would definitely draw rats. Maybe Trap should start using dead bodies. You know what? Fuck that. Trap's already got enough sadistic imaginations in his little head._

I followed Danev along the rooftops, close enough to the center that we could slightly make out the caravan without being seen by them. When Danev was still able to see them past where he had lost sight of them 3 days ago, the look of glee on his face was obvious. That ended when some idiot kid, maybe about 8 years old crawled up the rooftop where we were sat and set himself next to us.

"You're the Hornets, right?"

"Fuck off" answered Danev.

"You going to steal something today?"

"No." I replied. "Now do us a favor and fuck off"

"I'm sure the Fire Nation will believe me if I told them the Hornets were out again to steal some food from them. They might even give me some food, unless of course, you have something to offer me."

"Do we look exactly well fed, dumbass?" I asked.

"Why would the Fire Nation give 2 fucks about what a little shit like you has to say?"

The kid paused, and then smiled. "Let's find out."

He stood up to run, but Danev was quicker. He grabbed the kid by his rags of a shirt, turned him around to the road opposite the building we were at where the Fire Nation wasn't moving goods, and shoved the kid off the roof, planting a kick on his chest for good measure.

I had my head turned in time to watch the kid flail of the roof with a small yelp before falling. I turned back around to make sure we hadn't lost the convoy. _Fucking dumbass kid._

"He'll live. Probably just has a broken bone or too. Unless, of course, he fell on his neck."

I shrugged. "Guess that's for him to figure out."

Danev chucked. "Ha. Yeah."

We saw the caravan make another turn in the alley and followed. Most of the other urchins who were following had either turned back now either because the caravan was going too far for their tastes or they weren't in the mood to be thrown off a roof.

We saw, well, rather heard, the cart come to a stop. Going prone on the apartment roof, we crawled to the edge, poking only our heads out to see the scene below us.

Right where the old clinic used to be, food was being brought in in open crates with the tarp on the cart now rolled back. The bounty below us was enough to get my mouth watering and my member hard. It was love at first sight.

Next to the clinics doors and above were signs reading "Relief" and "Free Food and Medicine" accompanied by "Come Inside!"

"Fucking Hell" I whispered to Danev. "They could have a trail of jelly beans leading into a metal cage and it would be less conspicuous."

"Do they think we're fucking retarded? What shit are they playing at?"

"Could be cannibals." I offered.

"Why would they be fucking cannibals when they have all this food coming in? No. I think it's one of those child sex rings. Or maybe just your average slavery."

"There a fetish for skin coated bone children that I'm unaware of?"

"There an appetite for coated bone children that I'm unaware of?"

"Fair point."

"They stopped the recruitment drive. Could be forced conscription now."

"We're not exactly fit for service and besides, I think they'd get more voluntary recruits now more than ever if it meant getting fed."

We resumed our watch for around another minute as they brought in more food until Danev spoke up saying "Alright. I'm going back to the Hive to tell Riu.

"You leaving me here alone?"

"Thought you said forced conscription sounded pretty good right now?"

"Yeah, but not cannibalism or sex slavery."

"Oh I'm sure you'll be fine." And with that, he left, and I settled down for what I assumed would be the rest of my day.

 **Reek**

Today is the first day of how the rest of our lives in Citadel is going to play out. Wake up at 5 in the morning. Miro was very specific about that. He woke us all up at once with a loud bell that sent us out of sleeping piles to the mess hall, grumbling all the way. Then breakfast which was probably the best part of the morning. The food the Earth Kingdom had brought in: bread, cereal, canned soup, the like, all made for great breakfast. At round 6, an Earth Kingdom soldier comes in. I don't know where he comes from, but probably somewhere very close outside the city. Maybe the woods that are nearby. I don't know. The man comes in, hands a paper to Miro, then leaves.

Miro lets us go about our own ways for half an hour until he summons us individually. First, he asked for Janick and Mouse. They left through the sewer tunnel closest to Arsenal street. Next, he asked for Mu and Sarik who left through the "rich people" sewer exit.

Then it was my turn. He called me and Lean. He was skinny. That's all there was to him. He was practically devoid of personality. All he had was the name. There was nobody more boring in all of Citadel and I dreaded having to spend the day with him, but in all honesty, I probably wouldn't even notice he was there.

I sat down at a table with Miro on the other side who remained quiet until Lean dragged himself out of whatever padded room he was previously occupying and sat down.

"The Earth Kingdom wants us to steal some Fire Nation weapons that are being kept in a warehouse in the slums." Miro handed me a paper that showed a crude map of arsenal street and a small building deep in the slums with a red X marked on the building that I assumed to be the warehouse. On the other side of the paper was what looked like a grocery list. It was small. When I asked Miro what the words read, he told me simply enough. It was "just enough weapons that could be smuggled on a 2 persons in pockets, underneath shirts, etc."

" _3 Knives/Daggers_

 _8 iron arrows_

 _1 stick of dynamite_

 _2 knapsacks of gunpowder_ "

"And don't make it obvious. Grab whatever isn't in plain site so it doesn't look obvious."

I nodded and proceeded to ask "Why are they keeping it in the slums?"

"Miro shrugged. Earth Kingdom didn't tell me. Maybe because its closer to the street. Or maybe it's a stash for emergencies. I don't know."

"How did the Earth Kingdom know about this. We didn't tell them, right?"

"Not that I know of. I guess the Fire Nation aren't the only ones with spies everywhere. So . You good to go?"

I nodded and Miro looked to Lean who gave a curt nod and went stiff again shortly after, looking down at his thumbs below the table.

"Good. Be careful.

We left. The sewers beneath Citadel were a confusing matter. The Fire Nation had tried to seal them out of fear of Earth Kingdom soldiers being able to get in through here. They sealed most of it by pouring down something called concrete. It was a liquid stone that got hard after a while. It sounded strange, but I saw it myself before I had even joined Miro. I saw the soldiers pour barrels of it down the sewers, but the thing is that the Fire Nation had missed some of the sewer grates. They didn't have enough of this "concrete" for the entire city so they just did it randomly which was good for us because now, as long as we avoided the sealed places, we could go almost anywhere in the whole city without being seen,

The exit closest to arsenal street brought us under one of the older buildings in Citadel that still had wooden supports. We had to crawl out, trying to avoid hitting our head on the underside of the home, and crawl our way out. It was probably one of the more concealed sewer entrances/exits in Citadel. We crawled out from under the building to find an older man asleep, head resting on a dog just as skinny as the man himself who wasn't exactly in the best of shape.

I pulled out the map and saw the circle that markers the sewer exit in relation to the warehouse. It was close. Very close. We didn't even have to cross the street. It was on the side where we were, but closer to the wall. We made our way there.

This early in the morning, hardly anybody was awake. The Fire Nation only had around 5 guards watching the entire inner wall which was pretty big meaning we wouldn't have much trouble getting what we needed.

The warehouse was unguarded and even from the wall, the Fire Nation wouldn't be able to get a look at us unless they looked straight down. The warehouse was literally touching the steel wall.

I tried the door. Obviously enough it was locked. There were no windows on the first floor, but upon looking up, there **were** some on the 2nd story.

"Lean." I said. "Give me a boost up." He crouched down obediently as though a mute dog and help his hands out for me to step on, but I used his shoulders instead. I would have to go higher than what his hands could get me up to. He stood up quickly enough that I nearly fell over.

I looked through the window. The dust covering it made nigh impossible for even light to penetrate. I looked for where the hinge was and tried pushing, then pulling, but neither would work on the first go. It was only after batting my shoulder against it that the window broke free of it hinges and I fell right through the window inside.

I went into a free fall and landed straight down on the hard concrete floor of the warehouse. I could barely breathe and when I tried, only dust entered and I sneezed. It was only after around 5 failed attempts that I managed to catch my breath. I looked around the warehouse, but the pitch darkness making even seeing hard.

I tried to find the door, but that air tight son of a bitch was a pain to find in itself. I stood up and tried finding the wall with my hands until I stabbed myself against some kind of blade mounted on the wall. I tried again, more slowly this time, moving left along the wall until I found the hard wood door. By now, my eyes were more adjusted and I could find the handle on the door. I gave it a push and a pull before I remembered that it was locked. It was dead bolted and barred. The dead bolt went first, but when I tried uncaring it, it wouldn't budge until I wedged myself beneath **it** and the floor and stood up that it released itself and fell onto the ground with a hard _clunk._

The door finally opened and the room was finally lit. The sun had risen, but still wouldn't shine in thanks to the dust covered windows, but finding wha we needed was easy enough. Lean willingly enough took the burden of the load, carrying the entirety of the contents of the "grocery list." As per Miro's, and more importantly, the Earth Kingdom's instruction, we took the contents that wouldn't be seen as missing upon first site.

Before I closed the door, I saw something. Another door on the opposite wall as the first door. This wall, metal. I knew where it led. There was only **one** place it **could** lead. Miro would want to hear I found a way out of the slums.

 **Luke**

It was probably somewhere around midnight when I came back. I hadn't been told to, but I had a feeling that I had more or less been forgotten about on that rooftop.

Nothing had changed much with the clinic. The cart left empty meaning they were keeping the food somewhere inside. All but 2 Fire Nation soldiers left, returning to what I assumed was the inner military district.

I was allowed back into the Hive the second Meeks, the only guard tonight, had seen me. We didn't have the weapons we used to. When the Hornets still had a deal going on with the Fire Nation, we were provided with some food and some weapons. The same weapons that got me into this gang, but when we bit off more than we could chew, we lost all of our food, our weapons, and 3 of our friends' lives. Now, guards just held sharpened sticks with glass shards tied around the end. Danev and I would practice with the same tools now lacking proper training equipment.

Danev hadn't stopped teaching me how to fight although it was getting more and more rare as finding food became the primary issue. At least now I knew how to somewhat hold my own in a brawl, score a few cheap moves, and get an upper hand in a bad situation. I was nowhere near skilled as it had been only around 2 and a half months that I had been a part of the Hornets.

I wondered sometimes if the Hornets was the best place for me to be. Before I was "recruited", I had thought about Miro's gang. Reek would give me the same pitch every other day I saw him. Reek was one of the few people in Miro's gang that actually had a high opinion of me. When I was still selling information between sides, neither group liked me very much.

Before, I had only met Riu on one occasion. Danev introduced me to him as the person telling them how to win, but the enemy as well. Gang war was still going on then. Great for business. As for Miro, I had never met the man. I heard good things about him though. Some of them conflicting though. Then I had joined the Hornets and the war ended just as soon as the food shortage began. It was more or less every man for himself now.

The slums were in a worse shape than ever. Everybody was starving. Some of the younger kids and the elderly had already dropped dead on the street or in the alleys from lack of food. It would be considered a miracle if you could step outside the hive and not see a skeletal corpse of a starved man on the street.

People were eating their pets, rats, birds too if they could catch them. I even heard about somebody on the streets that was eating dead bodies of other street urchins. Made me wonder how long it would take before he went after the living.

I saw Danev sitting on a bench in the main courtyard of the Hive, twiddling his thumbs without anything to do. When he saw me, he asked "Who told you to come back?"

"The sun." I answered. "Thought you guys forgot about me."

"It's fine. I'm just fucking with you. What did you see?"

I told him what I saw. The empty cart coming out with the Fire Nation convoy short 2 guards, the fact that the food was being kept inside the clinic, all of it. "You tell Riu?" I asked.

"I told him. He tells us to keep an eye on it and see if anybody comes for this supposed 'relief aid.' If so, he says that we'll find a way to take advantage of it so we can keep ourselves alive."

I sighed. It was a chance for food in the future, but no the present that worried me. "Trap catch anything?"

"Caught a mouse. Aden beat him to the trap and grabbed the thing right out of the trap, snapping its neck to give it to Ladle right away. Trap wouldn't shut up about it the entire time we were eating supper."

The word 'supper' alone made my stomach audibly grumble. "Is there any left?" I asked, holding onto a tad bit of hope.

"No. Sorry. It was a small one."

"It's fine. I'm used to it."

I was used to it. I had grown accustomed to the feeling of hatred my stomach gave me each and every time I lied down in bed. The smell of sewage water in my breath as it bounced against the wall and back against my face every time I exhaled on my sleeping bad and the rumbling of my stomach as it very loudly disagreed with my life choices. "Not for long." I told myself. I remembered the free food sign. Only 2 guards. We could handle that. The men in the white robes. Pushover. We could take what we needed. We wouldn't have to ask for it or die for it, but just take it.

I fell asleep with images of hot soup and juicy fruit in my dreams.

 **Reek**

We were the last group to get back. Lean and I had taken out time covering our tracks in the warehouse even wedging the door to give it an impression that it was locked like it had been before we interfered. There was nothing we could do about the broken window, but we would just have to hope nobody noticed. We took the glass outside and hid it under a nearby house moved dust around on the floor to cover our tracks.

I thought we did a pretty bang up job, but, of course, it wasn't our opinion that mattered.

Back at the Hive, Miro had us all put our loot into small wooden crates. The supplies that we were all packing up had actually surprised me. It was nothing similar to what gangs in Citadel would normally steal. There were, of course, weapons, dynamite, and arrows, but aside from that, There was a pair of Fire Nation boots and gloves. I didn't even want to think of the effort gone into obtaining those. There were some papers that I couldn't read the words on and a Fire Nation rank pauldron. Next to that, there were some screws that looked like they had been used to keep some metal structure together, and a saw as well.

Miro packed it all together nice and tight and nailed shut the box, leaving on a table.

When the Earth Kingdom came again tonight at the same time they had yesterday, I had overheard the conversation. Miro handed them the box nice and easy, but when they were leaving Miro asked "Do you have any more food for us?"

"The food we gave you yesterday should last you a week. When it does, we'll come down with more."

"Okay. Thank you."

So the supplies was going straight to the Earth Kingdom which raised even more questions than had been answered. As for the food, the man was right, it was enough. We ate a full meal that night much to all of our content, well, except Janick.

"Why does the Earth Kingdom need that stuff?" He asked to know one in particular over dinner. "I can understand the Fire Nation clothing, but the weapons? We need those more than they probably do."

"We need the food, Janick." Miro responded. "I'm not going to argue with a deal that is keeping us more fed in one day than we have been in the last month."

"But a deal with a bigger power is making us look weak. The Hornets are taking food on their own, they're not-"

"They're not eating." Miro finished his sentence for him. "4 of them have died in the last 2 months and others have run away. Those that are left are starving. We have it much better than they do and that's because we have friends in high places. We play by their rules and we stay fed. End of story."

"I thought we were in a gang so we wouldn't **have** to take orders from anybody." With that, he left, leaving a half empty plate that Mouse, sitting next to him, gladly confiscated.

Miro sighed and went back to his plate, leaving shortly after. Janick had made his opinion known when Miro first decided to make a deal with the Earth Kingdom. It wasn't a voice of agreeable that we heard that night and it's been more or less the same every night.

But if things kept the way they were now, all talk, but now walk, I would stay happy. And more importantly, I would stay fed.

That's all that really mattered to anyone anymore.


	19. Chapter 16: Rats

**Danev**

Riu was pacing back and forth in the lobby that had used to be his "throne room." The throne had gone, but the same dim lighting had stayed. Riu just used it now to stockpile any weapons as it was the most secure area in the building being in the center of the courtyard. "So they're actually handing out free food." He repeated, still in partial disbelief.

"Yeah. We kept an eye on it like you said. A few people came 6 days ago, around midday. They probably had heard it from someone else and were just desperate for some food. They came out an hour later, definitely not disappointed. The number of people who come is just getting higher and higher. Word spreads."

Riu wasn't a trusting person. It had taken months to even get Riu thinking about meeting with the Fire Nation and it had worked. For a while at least. Then the incident with Lannit and shit just started falling apart. He had stopped pacing and was just leaning against an inner wall now, talking to himself too quietly for me to hear. I could just pick up small phrases like "Maybe if", "No, not that", "Could it."

"Riu" I interrupted him. When he got into this inner trance of thought, It could take him hours to leave it unless somebody snapped him out of it.

"Okay." He said. "Okay. Maybe we should keep an eye on it for some more time."

"Riu" I interrupted before he could finish. "We don't have more time. We're starving. You're starving. We're all dying. If we go and see what's what, what's the worst that could happen?"

"It could be trap. We could all get killed in one stroke. We trusted the Fire Nation and they killed our people. Our friends! These people could be no different."

"They're literally handing free food to people out on the streets. I think this is a different story as opposed to the Fire Nation."

"How do we know?"

"We don't, but there's only one way we can find out."

"Danev. I know you're loyal and I've come to appreciate it. I trust everybody here with my life, but I only trust myself and you with theirs. I need to think about this some more. Come see me tonight and we'll talk about this further. Until then, tell everybody else what you saw. Get their opinions."

"I will". I nodded. And left. After the Fire Nation incident, Riu had barely talked to me. It was my idea to strike a deal with the Fire Nation and 3 of our people had gotten killed over it. No. 4. There was that messenger. Fuck. Genji. I remembered him. We thought killing him would help us, but it didn't do shit. We thought that the Fire Nation would keep us safe and Genji had put that at risk, but it was the damn Fire Nation that fucked us. It was better now. He had come to trust me again. He tried having Aden as his advisor, but that lasted less than a day. Stupid cunt didn't know the difference between fighting and surviving. That's why he was kept at the front entrance of the Hive. He wasn't good for anything else.

Aden and Meeko still worried me. They were anything but trustworthy. I'm surprised they've stuck around this long. I expected them to join the Fire Nation, or hell, maybe even Miro's gang once shit started going South. Why were they still around?

Before I closed the doors behind me, I looked back at Riu one more time. He had slid down the wall to the floor, doing theoretical calculations in his head. He could be cold, but soft too. I worried about him, but, then of course, that's why I was here. To make sure nothing bad happened to him. And to make sure we all stayed alive.

 **Reek**

The Earth Kingdom soldier had come back today. With him, 2 more crates of food. It was more than welcome. Miro was finally building up his gang. The time I had been around, it was never this busy. We were just a small haven of people willing to fight for food. There may have been more of us back then, but we were nowhere near as active. Now, working for the Earth Kingdom, we actually had a purpose. Most of us were plenty fine with it. Fight the Fire Nation in exchange for a way out of this city.

Miro had gathered us around. Said that the Earth Kingdom needed to tell us something. So we did.

The Earth Kingdom soldier was a gruff man. Tall and well built with plenty of facial hair. He wasn't in uniform, but we could recognize him as the soldier who always came here whether for drop offs or pick ups. He stood on a small earthen stage within the sewers where some ground had broken through. "As you all know, we have made a lot of progress over the last 2 weeks. The Fire Nation is starting to become nervous. Asking about missing food and supplies. They think it might be rats."

The comment earned a chuckle and a laugh from the audience. It had been a long 2 weeks. What started as simple thievery has become grater than that. Stealing from unattended carts in the middle of the street and even some weapons from the wall while soldiers weren't patrolling. We've been careful. Haven't been caught yet and don't plan to.

"The Earth Kingdom has become aware of you too. We have all heard of the danger that Ba Sing Se is in, but they still remain aware of our success and the role we play in the Earth Kingdom's defenses." Another cheer and some whoops from the audience. "The Earth Kingdom is even considering making you an honorary branch of the Earth Kingdom special forces, but we can't just call you Miro's gang. We need a name for you." He turned to Miro who was seated in the crowd. He wasn't the speaker today, but just one of us. He didn't seem to mind though. "Miro?" The man asked.

Miro stood up and turned around to see the lot of us and make his words heard. "The Fire Nation says its rats that are stealing from them. Says that its rats sabotaging their buildings. Says its rats that are the root of all problems in Citadel. They're right. It will be rats who continue to fight them. It will be rats who make they're lives hell and it will be rats who drive them out of our city! We are Rats!"

And the room erupted in a chant. "Rats! Rats! Rats!" We finally had a name. We finally had an image. "Rats! Rats! Rats!" And I never felt more at home.


	20. Chapter 17: The Soup Kitchen

**Luke**

To say that the courtyard of the Hive was down on its luck would be too much of a compliment to it. It was dying if not already dead. Trap hadn't caught a rat in the last few days and, naturally, he blamed us considering we had eaten on of his catches. There wasn't much talking that went on in the Hive that much anymore. We were tired. We were starving and thirsty with a free source of food only a few blocks away. If we tried to leave, Riu would keep us in. Said he was "doing us a favor", "keeping us alive".

It was bullshit, of course. We were dying in here. Whatever treasure trove of food Riu knew about that we didn't was obviously a secret from us considering we were on our knees begging to go outside to get food while Riu seemed perfectly calm with our situation. Danev wasn't half as stupid. Every day I would see him talking with Danev over the same damn table in the mess hall talking about the damn soup kitchen. One day, Danev would have the upper hand and I could see Riu preparing to give in and let us outside only for the tables to turn the next day, getting me prepared to see Danev just give up and die.

So, obviously, it was a surprise when Riu came out into the courtyard with Danev at his side telling us that we were getting fed today.

"We're going to the soup kitchen today." If he was expecting a cheer, an applause, or some other bullshit, he wasn't getting it.

"He sure took his damn time." I said to Ladle who was standing next to me. "Guess it just took Doormat dropping dead for him to get his shit together."

"And Mir'ak and Salid leaving too, of course."

I chuckled. "And then there were fewer. What's that now? 20?"

"19."

"Right." I turned my head back to Riu. If I was getting fed for the first time in weeks, I was hearing what had to be said.

"Obviously-" began Riu. "A sign promising "Free Food" might be risky, but we're a bit short of choices right now and this seems like our only choice at the moment. So what's going to happen is that I'm going to take three quarters of our group to this soup kitchen. We play nice. Get in good with whoever is running this place. See if we can get off any kind of shit list and get ourselves in good with this group. We can see if we can run security for them, make deliveries, that kind of shit if it means getting food."

"Meanwhile." Came in Danev. "I'm going to take the other quarter of the Hornets and we'll be returning to our roots. Raiding convoys, robbing people, that kind of stuff. There's fewer of us now than ever before so we may be able to split up our food that we got on our own separate runs. So "soup kitchen goers", do what you can to get us a meal if we fuck up. Hide some bread in your shoes, up your sleeves, in your damn breeches if you have to. We're not getting picky. Also, raiding group, that's me, Meeko, Aden, and Goni.

" _Fuck me_." I heard Goni mumble behind me. " _Why can't I get the free fucking food?"_

"So we good?" Riu asked from the front of our gathering. No objection was raised.

"Good. The rest with me. We're leaving now. Let's go."

The group heading for the soup kitchen broke off from the raiding party as Danev and his entourage grabbed whatever "weapons" they could from sharpened sticks to rather large wooden planks.

"Hey Danev!" I yelled to him from a cross the courtyard. "On the likely chance you guys fuck up, I'll save you the crust." Even from across the courtyard, I could see his middle finger extended, flipping me off. I laughed it off and returned he favor.

No. I didn't want him to die. Whatever distaste I may have had for the Hornets at one point weren't worth anything anymore. Maybe I **did** come along as a hostage, but this was where I belonged now. I fought with these people, slept with them ate with them, and yes, starved with them too. There's nothing more communal than shared misery.

The route to the soup kitchen I had still remembered. I led our small convoy of 15 to the soup kitchen through the disease ridden alley ways of Citadel's slums. The flu that had taken lighthead had gone around. There were dying or dead bodies here and there. For all the good food coming back into the city might have done, it wasn't medicine. We were still dying. **Not** like I was complaining. I was happy enough to fill the void that was my stomach which had become so pain ridden I could barely feel it anymore.

As we walked, I couldn't help bunt realize that aside for himself, Riu had taken the youngest and most passive of the Hornets with him, letting Danev and the older more violent ones handle the convoy raiding and such. Did I make me feel lazy and useless? Yes. Was I angry? No. I was getting food **without** having to put my life on the line. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

The kitchen hadn't moved. Of course it hadn't. It was right where it was supposed to be, but that mass gathering of people around it made the entire area seem completely different. It wasn't the abandoned warehouse that it was when I saw it just setting up. Surrounding buildings had been torn down making the area around the soup kitchen into a whole new plaza of sorts. Walking through the mass gathering of people all waiting in front of the same building was almost akin to walking through the masses of people during a recruitment drive or an execution. I was reminded of Hedrick, Lannit, and their execution. Of Sunji when he was killed, and then the Air Nomad. The Air Nomad who had looked right at me. The one who recognized me. The feeling wasn't mutual. He looked on me with a recognition that wasn't retur-

"Luke!" It was Riu. He was right in front of me talking to me and I hadn't heard a single word.

"What?"

"Is there another way in? This line. Fuck this. We can't wait this long."

"Remember what you said earlier? You told us that we play nice and make friends here. Let Danev have his fun. We're here to get in good with these people."

Riu turned back to the line, allowing himself to take it all in before just sighing out a " _fuck!"_ And turning back to me. "Okay. I've got an idea. Just gather the others and follow me.

Riu got the rest of us in a line and walked us next to the line to the front to a nun who was watching the doorway.

The nun saw us approaching and bent down a ways to meet us head on. Riu, while being tallest and heading the line, wasn't the one to catch her attention. It was us children.

"Oh Spirits, you must be starving!" Said the elder woman, viewing us with as much pity as a woman could muster.

"Yes. They are. They haven't eaten in weeks and I don't know how much longer we can last on the streets.

"Oh. Poor things. I understand just how you feel. Don't worry. Just get in the line and we'll have you fed in no time."

"I appreciate it a lot ma'am. And so do they, but do you think that there's any way we could get in sooner? We barely made the journey across all of Citadel just to get here."

The Hive was only a few blocks away, but I wasn't willing to cut this up.

"We're exhausted from the journey and I don't know how much longer we can go without food or water. I think some of us are even coming down with the sickness that's been going around."

As if on cue, I synthesized a coughing fit that soon became real and went a bit far when I coughed up what looked to be part of my lower intestine. _That's not fucking good._ I thought to myself.

"Oh spirits!" The woman cried. "Let them in! Let them in! She said to the Fire Nation guard who was watching the front door.

And just like that, the doors to paradise were opened, and the crowd parted to. Allow our entrance. It took all my willpower to suppress my grin. I just had to walk and eat the blood flow down my mouth.

And so we ate. Soup, venison, mixed vegetables, and bread. A feast. The biggest **we** would be getting any time soon.

I dove into the soup right away, letting it warm my intestines before I actually tried eating anything solid and wind up choking on it. The vegetables were steamed and soft so I ate them next, letting my body remind myself what food felt like in my stomach. Then was the venison, most likely hunted in the woods right outside the walls. The meat was soft and juicy. It wasn't too well done, but it was perfect. Still slightly soft, chewy, and juicy and with a pink color on the inside. Then the bread. I split it in half, holding one half under my cupped hands, remembering Danev and the others while using the other half to soak up what was left of the soup before eating to nice soft, warm, and moist bread. When I was done, I looked up from my meal to see that the nuns hadn't yet served Ladle who was sitting right next to me. The meal had felt like it had lasted an eternity, but I had eaten the entirety of it in the course of 1 or 2 minutes.

Watching the others eat at just the same pace was excruciating. I kept on remembering the second half of the bread under my hand, but did everything in my power to push the thought away from my head. It wasn't for me.

The rest ate their meals at a very similar pace, downing everything as quickly as possible. Trail actually went for the meat first and ended up choking on it, having to be hind licked by one of the nuns. It got a laugh out of Ladle who, in turn, choked himself, having the same maneuver be performed on him. He ended up eating the same food that he spit out anyway so nothing was put to waste.

Riu, however, was being more methodical, chatting up the workers whenever he could as they passed by between bites. I watched as I drank from a cup of actual filtered water and listened to Riu's attempts to "Make nice."

There was talk about what they did here, how they managed it, if they needed any help, the like. The nuns turned down the help at first, only smiling and saying, "No. It's fine. You don't have to pay us back anything."

It wasn't until a certain nun who had been eyeing our group for a while now stopped by Riu and asked him where our parents were.

"Can't say the same thing for all of them. So of their parents are dead or dying. Some of their parents just abandoned them on the streets before leaving Citadel to go elsewhere, and some, well, some just don't know where their parents are."

"And you took them all in?"

"All the ones you see here. I consider them my responsibility. Society cast them out so I brought them in under my roof. They're my family now, and I'll protect them 'till my very last breath."

Now **that** had attracted a crowd. Workers paused their duties to gather 'round to hear Riu's "stories" of how he took each and every one of us off the streets. I didn't know if some of them were true or not, but what he made up for me, I found most interesting.

"The one over there." He said pointing to me. "Luke. He went around on the streets helping people out. Telling them important things to help them in the streets. A mentor of sorts. The things he told people saved lives, but some people weren't too happy with this and tried to kill the kid. Well, we saw he was in danger and took him under our wing. He's been a welcome addition."

I chuckled under my breath. _A welcome addition, huh? I like that._

"And you take care of all of them?"

"As best as I can, but, you know, it's hard when you barely have enough food to keep them all fed. It's fallen on me to ration food and there's nothing harder in this world than having to make decisions like those. It's heart breaking."

And now at this point, he had the lot of them in tears. If he hadn't won them over at this point, he definitely did with what came next.

"Are there more of you wherever you're staying?"

"We have some sick and injured that were too weak to walk. We go out every day looking for enough to keep them living a bit longer.

"Dear Raava! How many?

Only 4. We've already lost some to this city. Too many. I'm trying to keep that from happening ever again, but we're not sure if this kitchen will be enough with so many other people waiting outside."

"No!" One of them practically yelled. "Children always come first. We couldn't live with ourselves if we allowed such young and innocent children to starve on these streets. We'll make sure that you'll always have a place here and enough food whenever you need it.

 _Young and innocent. Oh that's rich._ A new nun arrived in the room with a basket covered in a white sheet. The head nun took the basket from her and handed it politely to Riu saying "Food and water for your sick and injured. Please give them our warmest regards." Riu kept himself from taking it too eagerly, but managed quite well, taking it and saying "We will. They'll sing your praise throughout the night. Thank you very much. We truly appreciate this offering."

 _Calm down, Riu. Don't oversell it._

The nuns went back to their usual tasks and we left a few minutes later after saying farewells to the nuns running the place. They gave us their blessings, wishing us well, praying for our safe return home, inviting us tomorrow for more, yardage yardage. I had a full meal in my stomach and the promise of more to come. I was perfectly content.

Carrying a basket of baked goods through the Citadel streets didn't assure safety like a nice knife would have done, but there were enough of us to make sure we weren't attacked. We took the alleyways just to be sure.

"Well." I spoke up as we got closer to the Hive. "I think that went rather well."

 **Danev**

"Alright. Now what the fuck is that bullshit?!" Exclaimed Aden from the wall where we were perched. Fire Nation patrols wouldn't come near our spot on the wall for a while so we were safe. Relatively at the very least.

In reference to what had surprised Aden so much, a metal foundation had been built midway between the homeland road and arsenal road. The housing in the way had been demolished making room for the metal foundation. The foundation was structured as an arch almost mimicking-

"A tunnel." I said out-loud. "Metal too. Somebody's scared about earth benders, by the looks of it."

"What's it for?" Asked Meeko.

"Moving stuff in safely and quietly by the looks of it. This fucking sucks for **us** though."

"I don't see any convoys either." Said Aden.

"They're probably holding them somewhere close outside the city walls until the tunnel is done."

"Why?" Asked Goni. "We haven't been attacking Fire Nation convoys for months now. What do they have to worry about from us?"

"Not us" I replied. "The Rats."

"Who the fuck is that?" Asked Meeko.

"Miro's gang. Looks like they finally got a real name and have been a thorn in the Fire Nation's ass for too long."

"Alright. Said Aden. So what now?"

" **Now** , we can hope that Riu had better luck than us. Aside from that, we see what we can learn. Find wherever the Fire Nation's storing their goods outside the walls. Around a year ago, Luke told me about the sewers under the city and that there may be something in there that the Hornets were looking for. Asked for **way** too much money for that bullshit info, but it looks like it may just be what we need to get out of this city.

"If we know a way out of this city, why don't we just leave?" Asked Goni.

"And go where? Ba Sing Se? Fuck that. I heard that the city's under siege. Aside from that, it's just open forest. We'd be fucked in the ass. Here, at least we know what's what."

I looked at the construction site for a few more seconds. They had small cranes set up, carrying the metal foundations and even laying some metal sheets near the bottom. "And if that fails, let's take some precautions and make an entrance into that tunnel for ourselves tonight. Maybe through the sewers or a loose metal sheet here or there. We need a backup in case things go to shit."

"So let's just head back for now?"

"Yeah. Just head back for now. We'll make an entrance into this tunnel tonight."

And so we left. While I've never been a fan of Aden, Meeko, or Goni for that matter, they had their uses. Yes, they were all hot headed, idiots, and simply unlikeable explaining why they didn't go with Riu, but they had their uses. Like, say, there's a wooden wall that you need to get to the other side of. Tell Goni that there's smoked pork on the other side, he'll use his own head as a bettering ram just to get what he wants. I guess, in a way, it's admirable. In its own fused up kind of way.

Hell, just thinking about smoked pork had been making my mouth water. I really hoped Riu had better luck than us. I needed to eat. _I don't think I can go another without food or I may just drop dead._ We climbed down the exposed foundations of the wall, using maintenance paths through the actual wall to get back down to ground level. One of the entrances was perfectly secluded amongst a trio of abandoned warehouses which made for a nice hidden entrance into the wall. There was no way out through the wall, however. That was only through the main gates, unfortunately.

The way back to the hive was simple enough. Just had to get to the arsenal street, go down the central alley way, take a right at the old market and you're at the Hive. And standing in the center of the courtyard was Riu and his group. Almost immediately, I noticed that a lot was missing from the courtyard. Some training dummies, sharpened sticks used as swords, some simple homemade armor, and more.

"The hell happened here?" I asked.

"The rats! It's those fucking rats!" Yelled Riu. "They couldn't fucking let old flames die, could they! Steal from the Fire Nation and they think they're so big and strong. Fuck that!"

Hearing Riu like this, really made me doubt whether I was getting fed tonight or not. This attitude, this anger. Not the kind of stuff nuns are big fans of.

"How do you know it was the rats?"

"They drew pictures of rat heads on everything they could find." This time it was Luke talking. "They're really shitty drawings too. I doubt its some street urchin trying to start a way between two gang. They're not smart enough for that."

"Fucking assholes" mumbled Riu.

"Okay, Riu. So what are we going to do about this?"

"First off. We never leave the hive abandoned again. We always keep some people here to watch the place. We didn't exactly have much, but I guess the rats thought that little amount was just too much. Then. Then we'll strike back. I don't know how, but we need to show that we're still kicking or they're going to keep on fucking with us."

"Agreed."

"Yeah."

"Fuck 'em"

"Let's kick some ass."

"Okay. We'll handle this in turn. Is that all?"

"No." Answered Riu. "Any luck today for you guys?"

"No. They're building a tunnel midway between homeland and arsenal to transport supplies. We think they're currently stocking food outside the walls. We're going to try to find a way into the tunnel tonight to-"

"Relax." Said Luke. "We did your job for you." And with that he set a basket down and slid it across the floor to where my group stood. I bent down to open it to reveal the treasure trove of food that had been the entire end goal of the Hornets for the past month. Food."

I looked up to Riu, almost asking if I was allowed to eat.

"Eat. Deal with this supplies business later, but for now, eat."

And so I ate. And for a brief moment, I was content. Maybe I wasn't going to die tonight.


	21. Chapter 18: Preparations

**Danev**

It was dusk. The sun hadn't been set for 5 minutes, but it was time for me to go. Work on the tunnel would be ending soon if it hadn't already. Finding a way in would be vital if we couldn't find the stash of food outside the city walls. Luke had volunteered for that. Finding out the location of the stash by any means. Assuming he failed, the tunnel would be our next safest bet. If that failed, then we would be in the hands of the nuns. And Riu, by no means, would ever even consider being at the mercy of someone else aside from himself. However, seeing what they managed to bring back today from just **one** trip, we could have a good thing set up with the nuns. Luke told me how easily Riu got them "eating from the palms of his hands." It could be a good backup should everything else o to shit.

I was hoping Riu would calm down before I left. He needed to see the whole deal with the Rats more clearly. However, getting ready to leave, he was still pretty heated. I didn't know what would happen while I was gone, but I needed to have a talk with him before he did anything stupid. I didn't want to say anything in front of the others. I wouldn't question his authority in front of the others like that, but we **did** need to talk some tings over.

He was sitting at his usual table in the front center of the mess hall. Aden and Ladle were the only ones there aside from them.

"You mind leaving us?" I asked Aden who was seated in the back right corner. Ladle was already leaving. He knew where he stood. Aden looked up, but just as quickly went back to some bread he must've picked up from the soup kitchen.

"Leave" said Riu from where he sat. **That** got Aden packing.

"You still around?" Riu asked me as I approached and sat across from him on the wooden bench.

"Figured we needed to have a talk about something."

"Being"

"The Rats"

"What of them?" He asked. I just noticed that he wasn't even eating anything. He was just slouched over the table, but now he met my eyes. "They want to resume this little war and so we will."

"I understand that we can't just let them steal from us, but it's a bad time to resume the conflict. The rats are getting stronger. Stronger than **us.** We need to build our strength and get things orderly before we do anything drastic.

"So you're saying we just give up?"

"What I'm **saying** is that we give them some leeway. We go on the defense for a little while. Big fucking deal. We catch our breath, get out shit together, and bide our time."

He looked away from me and back at the ground. "Only cowards and dead men roll over. So which are we?"

"Riu-"

"Which. Are we?!"

"Neither. We're smart. We know how to survive and only idiots kill themselves to hurt their enemies."

"No. Sorry, Danev, but I'm not rolling over. You do your shit with this tunnel, you get Luke out there at first light tomorrow and you let **me** handle this shit with the Rats."

"So do I still take my crew with me or will you be needing them?"

"Do whatever you need with them for the moment. I'll tell you when I need them and I'll expect you to let me use them how I see fit. Deal?"

When he asked me if we had a deal, then it was settled. There was no more arguing. There was only his way. There was only one answer. "Deal."

"Good. Now go. I'll see you back here tomorrow."

I got up. "Yeah. You will. Goodnight."

I didn't wait for an answer. I left, closed the thick wooden door to the mess hall behind me, and kicked a pallet leaning against the wall of the building, breaking a hole through the center. "Fuck!" I yelled.

"Fuck did that pallet ever do to you?" I heard a voice behind me ask. I turned around.

"Hey Luke."

"Problem?"

"Maybe a month or two ago, I wouldn't have told him anything, but I liked to think that things were different now. That I could trust him. So I did. "Fucking… Riu wants to go to war. And if we do were fucked."

"Why do you say that? Is it the fact that we have no weapons? No supplies? A fragile deal of our survival based on the goodwill of a soup kitchen that has thousands over people to deal with, or the fact that the Rats have the aid of the Earth Kingdom?"

Now that got my attention completely. "The Earth Kingdom?"

"I assume so. Why else the fear of Earth Benders within the walls judging by the steel tunnel. And it **would** explain how the Rats are getting food without ever going to the soup kitchen. Never saw any of them while I was keeping an eye on the place for the lat few weeks."

I sighed. "Fuck me. Fuck it all."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. The Earth Kingdom's probably just using the rats to meet their own ends within the cities, but I have no idea just how much the Fire Nation knows. They probably have seen signs of earth bending around the city, but If they **did** know the Rats were actually with the Earth Kingdom, there'd be no more rats for us to worry about anymore."

"You sure about this?"

"No. Of course not. I'm just making observations. So yeah, this gang war, huh?"

"Riu thinks pride and reputation are worth more than survival."

"I can see them going hand in hand. Riu kept the slums from ganging up on him for years on the sole basis that he killed a Fire Nation soldier. Now, The Hornets are weaker than ever and nobody fears him as much as they sued to. Riu just wants to get things back on track."

"Even if it means we all get killed?"

"He's taking a risk. The Rats are just getting more supporters. Are the Hornets? No. Nobody respects us or fears us like they used to."

"Are you actually taking his side?"

"I'm playing devil's advocate. Riu does have his reasons. He's just trying to keep us at the top."

"So it's already 'us', huh?" It was 5 months ago that you were selling our secrets to whoever paid the most for it."

"And now I'm here. What's your point?"

"You haven't been here as long as I have. I've been with Riu since the very beginning. I know what kind of person he is and I know that if he goes through with what he's planning, we **will** die. Do you know what happens to a Hornet after it stings its victim? It dies."

There was nothing else I needed to say. I would follow orders. I wouldn't disobey them. I was loyal to Riu. All I could do was try to make Riu see things in a way that wouldn't get us killed. So I had my work cut out for me. I left the Hive. I didn't even bother grabbing my crew. I was doing this alone. I needed time to think.

 **Luke**

It's actually only Bees that die after stinging someone, but I get the idea.

 **Danev**

The tunnel was more or less at the place it had been this afternoon. Foundation was up, some metal plates attached here and there, but nothing specialist. This time, however, I was seeing it from the ground. Not the top of the wall. As big and grand as it had looked from up on highs, it was nothing compared to how it looked from the ground. It dwarfed even the tallest of building in the slums. Which wasn't that impressive, to be fair. 3 stories as a matter of fact. And that was the only 3 story building in the slums.

"Wow I fucking hate this place." I murdered to myself. There was nobody around. The workers had gone back to the military district and had taken their tools with them. SO I wouldn't be stealing anything, but I could still get a way inside for myself.

I walked along the sides of the tunnel, passing through the tunnel to see the other side from time to time. Any sewer grates in the way of the tunnel were filled with cement. It was already dry. Probably one of the first things they did. I wouldn't be surprised if they made the floor steel as well so no earth benders could could sneak in from underneath. A new entrance into the city or the military district hadn't been made yet. I imagine it would be one of the last steps once the tunnel was actually fortified leading me to thinking of only one possible entrance.

The walls, while wide, were hollow, allowing for engineers and soldiers to move around freely inside. What if I were to loosen some metal panels on the wall allowing me a way to enter easily. I already knew a nearby discreet entrance into the wall. I didn't want to make an entrance straight into the tunnel as it would be carefully checked for at least another few months, but thought he wall, however, that would be easier and less likely to draw attention.

I decided to test my idea out and made a small dent in the section of the wall I had my eyes on before going through the steel door into the inner workings of the mall, making sure to keep it slightly open behind me. I didn't have a key nor have I ever lockpicked the door. I just saw a solder entering a few weeks ago, snuck up behind him and put a brick in the doorway so it wouldn't close. The soldier didn't end up coming later that day nor did he since then. Or anyone else for that matter. Guess patrol sizes were really dwindling with a good part of the garrison going off the Ba-Sing-Se. It was no secret. News of the siege had gone around and Citadel was fully aware of the deal with that city. I felt sort of bad for the Rats in a way. They chose a bad time to throw themselves in with the Earth Kingdom.

Did I think the Fire nation would take the city? I did. Did I like that? Not particularly. I wouldn't mind if they kept throwing themselves against those great walls so long as that meant they didn't give a shit about us here in Citadel. _If they keep this. Up, there's a good chance we may even be able to leave Citadel. For good._ Now **that** was an interesting thought.

I got to the point of the wall in question. I found the small dent I had made and checked to see how easy it would be to remove the steel sheet. Only a few screws. Nothing too bad. I could have waited for another day, but I didn't want to forget anything. I found a lonely toolbox nearby with a screwdriver and went up to the steel sheet. For being steel, it was rather thin and the screws weren't in all the way. Pretty shitty maintenance if you ask me. I got the screws out easy enough, removing the sheet to the best of my ability which meant pushing it out so it landed on the hard earth with a loud _clang. I kept my eye open to see if anyone had heard it, but when nobody came, I felt confident enough that I was safe._

The metal sheet was out and It lead straight into the tunnel. We were set. Moving the sheet back into place and screwing it back in wasn't nearly as easy given the weight and size of the sheet, but I managed. I completely screwed in the top and left sides of the sheet and screwed in only two on the bottom and right sides. Figured that we could just raise the sheets slightly to go through and avoid taking out the entire thing.

 _Well. That was easy._ And you know what? I was proud of myself. I did something. I put the screwdriver back in the tool box and kept the screws with me so nothing would look suspicious. From what I could tell. I was in the clear. Managed to get some thinking done and I may have just saved the Hornets. We had access to free food and to this tunnel which could mean anything from food and supplies to a way out. Maybe I wasn't entirely right about what I said earlier. Maybe we were doing okay. Maybe we would be okay.

 **Luke**

Morning came. And this time, I wasn't waiting around for anybody to kick me out and send me on my way. I put on some pants, washed my face in my water basin which seconded as a waste bucket, grabbed a piece of bread from the kitchen downstairs and was on my way. The sun was barely up and for a while, It felt like life before the Hornets. Before I chose a side. It was strange. No group watching over me, standing around me at all times. For once, I felt like I could breathe, but at the same time, I felt exposed, like anything could kill me at any given moment, but at least I knew the Hornets weren't one of those things. I thought things over as I slept. Plan A was sneaking into the walls between the slums and the military district. Patrols were tighter there as if they were more afraid of some slum rats than the Earth Kingdom. Walls were thin enough to heard through and with more patrols, there was more idle talk.

So I went to the walls. I snuck in through an entrance through an old warehouse I had found a few days ago. It was odd. The doors to the warehouse had been unlocked as opposed to normal. I snuck inside to have a look, but all of the supplies had gone. I imagine the Fire Nation must have moved it somewhere safer. I wouldn't know, but there **was** a steel door leading straight into the wall. I took out a small lock pick that I had stolen, sorry, 'borrowed' from Aden a few weeks ago. Wouldn't stop bragging about how good he was at lock picking, so I swiped it from him just to piss him off. Few days later, decided to try doing it myself, and guess what? I'm pretty damn good. That, or the Fire Nation really sucks at making doors.

This time was no different. I was through in less than 30 seconds. There was a different entrance I used to take into the inner wall, but the Fire Nation had caught me in the act once before and had sealed the entire doorway. Overkill if you ask me. That was before I joined the Hornets, of course. I decided I would sit around for maybe 3 hours which meant patrols would go by at least 30 times and if I heard anything that sounded important, I would follow them from right under their noses.

So when 3 hours passed and I had heard nothing, I wasn't in the best of moods. Having put all but one egg in one basket, I was pretty pissed. At the Fire Nation, the world, and myself. So then came that ingle egg that I wasn't particularly excited about.

Reek was standing at his usual corner. With him was Mouse. I figured that, should things go really bad, I could probably take Mouse and maybe Reek. Reek was the same age as me, but for having been better fed, more scrawny somehow. That's vague. We're all fucking scrawny. He's just a little more. I approached the duo to have both of them already have knives raised at me before I could say a word. Even Reek. I knew he recognized me, but the speed at which he went for his weapon surprised even me. I admit. It hurt a bit.

"Reek." I said putting on calm mask and keeping my voice to match it.

"Luke." He said, still holding his knife up at me despite me having my arms clearly raised.

"Been a while."

"Why are you here?"

"Figured we could have a little chat."

"Go on then."

"Privately if it wouldn't be too much of a bother."

"Mouse spoke this time. "Though luck, Hornet fuck"

"Wow. Rude, but also poetic."

Reek lowered the knife. "It's fine mouse. Go along. I can handle him."

 _Handle him? Where's the love?_

"Fine." Said mouse disgruntled. Don't let him go without a few broken bones.

"I'm not counting on it." Spoke out Reek.

Mouse left and I was able to get a better look at Reek. He had a green armband with a symbolic rat's head. The same one at the Hive.

"So how you doing today?" I asked. "Nice weather, in't it?"

"What do you want?"

"There's something we need to speak about."

"So speak." He wasn't happy. That much was clear. Most likely considering due to how we left things off last time we spoke.

I looked around before speaking. The grain street was abandoned for the most part considering supplies didn't come into the city anymore and the soup kitchen was the place to be if you were hungry. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about the Fire Nation storing supplies outside the city, would you?"

"No. Why?"

"Well. I don't know. It's just that Fire nation convoys have been getting hit quite a lot to the point that they're scared to bring supplies into the City anymore. I hear the Rats are responsible. Aren't you a rat yourself?"

He was smart, but still a kid. He was grinning giddily at the mention of the rats scaring the Fire Nation. He realized it himself and tried to regain his earlier pose and expression. "Yeah. I am."

"So you know what I'm talking about then?"

"I might."

"Okay Reek. Seriously. What the fuck is this? I thought we were friends."

"Yeah. I thought so too. Last time we spoke however, after the execution and 2 of your guys got got, you practically told me to fuck off."

"Reek."

"I offered to help you and you told me to fuck off and here you are asking for my help **now.** Why in fuck's name should I do anything for you? A hornet?

"Is that what you see me as? Just a hornet."

"It's what I see now."

I sighed. This wasn't going to be easy, but I had to make the effort. Not just for myself. For my friends. Some of them at least.

"Reek. Please. I need to know about the Fire Nation."

"Why should I help you? What reason do I have to give a fuck?" And with that, he turned around. I thought he was going to leave so I blurted out what I knew would stop him.

"Why do you think you rats are still alive. Why do you think the Fire Nation hasn't hunted you all down yet?"

He stopped, but wasn't yet facing me. "Why should they? They don't give a flying fuck about us. We're just a nuisance. They're busy fighting the Earth Kingdom."

"So wouldn't things change if they knew you were helping the Earth Kingdom infiltrate Citadel?"

Now he turned around. Now I had his attention. "What makes you think we're helping the Earth Kingdom?"

He hid it well. Not well enough though. He would listen to me. "You never go to the soup kitchen, you're activity against the Fire Nation is growing exponentially and getting far more organized, Fire Nation's just now starting to see activity of Earth Benders outside the city…"

Reek was sweating. He knew I was on the right track. "And?"

"And if the Fire Nation were too learn that the rats are responsible for this Earth Bender activity-"

"You wouldn't."

"I **will** unless you help me out with my problem. You've been spending a good amount of time harassing Fire Nation caravans. I figure that you know all about where the Fire nation's keeping them all bundled up."

"Don't do this, Luke. We need those supplies?"

"You need that supplies? We're not the ones getting relief aid from the fucking Earth Kingdom!"

"Okay okay" he said, shushing me. "Look. I'll take you to the top of the walls and show you were they're keeping it, alright?"

"Alright." I knew it would work.

We sat over the edge of the wall right by the tunnel that was being built. Construction had resumed on it and good progress was being made. The metal plates were already being settled on the foundation supports and being screwed on. I wondered if Danev had found a way in.

We faced in the direction of Ba-Sing-Se. Around noon, you could sometimes even see the Great Wall. It was too early for that right now, unfortunately.

"See the lake by the far right of the forest?"

"Yeah?"

"They have a camp to our left of it. They're keeping the caravans there ranging from food to weapons. It's heavily guarded in case of Earth Kingdom attack. I was told around 150 soldiers."

"Fuckin' Hell. You sure?

"Yes. I know you can just tell the Fire Nation about us if I'm lying to you. There's no point."

"Who told you all this?"

"The Earth-." He sighed. "The Earth bender who's been helping us."

I let out a fake gasp of surprise. "The Earth Kingdom's helping you?"

"Shut up. You got me. Even if you had to go so low as to blackmail us for it.

I sighed too. "I'm sorry. It's just gotten really desperate. Yesterday was the first day we even went to the soup kitchen. We've been starving and you know how Riu is with getting help from others. He considers this business with the nuns to be a fallback plan should everything else in the world fail.

"He's proud."

I scoffed. "Yeah. You could say that again."

We sat there for a while, looking out at the forests between Citadel and Ba-Sing-Se. The sun was now high above the forest, casting a long shadow cross the plains between Citadel and the forests.

"So." I said. "I've got to ask. Why the Earth Kingdom?"

"Miro's idea. We were desperate too. Everyone was when food had stopped coming in. The Earth Kingdom was our best bet. Miro was furious at even a mention at a deal with the Fire Nation. I have no idea what his deal is with them, but he fucking hates them." There was a pause and then he let out a chuckle. "You know? It's funny. A few weeks ago, I didn't even know earth benders existed. I knew there was an Earth Kingdom, but I had never seen earth bending before. When I saw the walls of our sewer break apart and the earth kingdom soldier walk in as though it was nothing, I nearly pissed myself. It was fucking cool."

I laughed a bit, regaining my breath before saying "Damn. Wait until you see water bending."

"What?"

"Yeah. There's fire benders, earth benders, water benders, and air benders."

"How do you know all this. Who told you this?"

"No idea really. I just kind of know."

"Oh fuck you."

"I'm serious. I can't remember ever being told this. I just know somehow.

"Any other benders I should know about. Wood or something too?"

"Not that I know of, but that would be pretty badass."

"It would be useful."

"Very."

There was another pause as we just looked out at the landscape ahead of us. I knew his next question before he even asked it.

"Why won't you just come with us?"

"It's like I told you last time. I can't."

"Why not? That was last time. There's no point in sticking with the Hornets any more. We're better equipped. We have more people. Our odds of surviving are **way** better."

"It's not about that. I've gotten to know the Hornets. They're my friends. My family."

" **I** was your friend. Your family. Or don't you remember?"

"Of course I remember. And you still are, but I can't just leave these people behind. Not like this. Not now."

"So when?"

"I don't know. Maybe never. I just don't know how anything will turn out.

He turned away from me, shook his head, and sighed before standing up. "You should go. Hornets are probably waiting for you.

"Reek, I-"

"Be careful with the Fire nation if you **do** try attacking their camp. They're tougher than the ones in this garrison. You know, actual soldiers. Just-. Just don't die."

I didn't want to end things this way. I wanted us both to remember simpler times. "Hey. You're not really going to break any of my bones, right?"

That got him smiling. "I don't know, Luke. It's probably best if you leave before I make a decision."

I chuckled. It was nice remembering when things were simpler and easier. Before the gang war. "Until next time, Reek."

"Until then, Luke."

And with that, I left. It was odd. Since the last time we spoke, there was an inexplainable weight on my chest. One that I couldn't get off. Like some kind of guilt, but this-. This had helped. That weight was gone. When I last spoke with Reek, It felt like that was goodbye. I was glad it wasn't. I was glad I could speak with him at least one more time. But now I had to leave. It was nearing midday and I had to tell the Hornets about what I had learned. Maybe I would get some extra lunch for it too.


	22. Chapter 19: Preparing for the Raid

**Danev**

I was in the courtyard with Luke. He had already told us what he knew. The camp was south of the lake. It was a miracle to know it even existed. Riu already sent Aden and Meeko to find a breach in the wall that we could get through. I knew it wouldn't be hard. The lack of maintenance the wall got pretty much assured a loose panel here or there. Goni would be going to. He was out on the streets looking for anything that could serve as a weapon. We knew what we were up against. Actual soldiers. Riu was probably the only person alive in Citadel who had actually taken on Fire Nation soldiers and won, still breathing to tell the tale.

That bullshit the rats did and what we used to do wasn't shit in comparison. Riu had actually killed a Fire Nation soldier and had earned his reputation in the slums of Citadel. He bled for his renown and he didn't intend on losing it. While Goni, Aden, and Meeko prepared in their own ways, I was getting ready for the actual fight.

"Just hold the stick like it's a spear and charge at me." I called out to Luke.

"No. That's fucking stupid." Yelled Luke from across the courtyard as though his intelligence had been questioned.

"I know its fucking stupid, but that's the dumb shit soldiers do."

He made his distaste known with the roll of his eyes before doing as I had told, and charged me.

I sidestepped before him and the stick, grabbing the "spear" with two hands before using his momentum to swing him forward, pulling the spear from his grasp and spinning around, using the stick I held to knock him from his feet.

"Oh wow." He said sarcastically as I gave him a hand to help him up. "I definitely didn't see that coming."

"That was good" I said, tossing him back the stick. Let's try that again."

It seemed dumb, but this felt like it. Was just what I needed. I had seen Fire Nation soldiers fight before. They weren't like us. Meaning, they weren't as desperate as us. To them, soldiering, security, scouting, it was just a job that they got paid for so they could return home with a hefty pay check. People from the Earth Kingdom, Water tribe, even just slum rats like us, we fought to survive. We used every thing we could to stay alive a second longer. We didn't fight for food, money, family, any of that shit. We fought for life. As miserable as it was.

Luke could shake his head all he wanted, but he went right back to his corner, preparing to charge again. I was thinking that this time, instead of grabbing the spear from him, I would step to the side and trip him with my foot or at least get him to stumble. Then I could tackle him. Or maybe, I could try ducking under the spear. No. No. He was smaller than me. I should've asked Riu, but he busy. Luke wouldn't be able to mimic an actual Fire Nation soldier as hard as he tried. It wasn't his fault. It was just his size that made it tough.

Before I knew it, he was charging. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, ready to make m move when he got close enough. He was at that perfect distance away where he couldn't change direction. I stepped to the side, but instead of going with his momentum with the spear, he ran as he should past me, but threw the spear at my face. I raised my hands to block it from hitting me head on. While my hands were raised, blocking my field of view, I could heard his feet come to a skid while I assume he was stopping, but when I next saw him, he had changed and was mid tackle. I couldn't stop him. He already had his arms around my waist and had knocked me to the ground flat on my back. I felt all the air leave my lungs as I tried to piece together what had just happened.

"What the-" I coughed. "What the fuck was that!?" I yelled between breaths.

"That was-" he coughed too. "That was motherfucking fighting."

"Fire Nation soldiers don't fight like that, dumbass."

"Oh let me guess. They all fight exactly like the dumbasses they send in the walls to escort convoys, well guess what. You're not fighting a one trick pony nor are you fighting brain dead retards. You're fighting trained soldiers, who, believe it or not, have working brains. Just because they're not as desperate as us, I doesn't mean they don't know how to fight."

"Luke, the fuck are you on about?"

"I'm sick of you thinking you know exactly what you're up against, because it's going to get you killed. You're barely 2 years older than me s why do you seem so much more ignorant. You're constantly underestimating what you're up against and that's gonna get you killed. Don't fight like you're fighting a statue. Fight like you're fighting against someone who has just as much if not more to lose than you. Then, if it just so happens that they're what you prepared for or even worse, then you'll be prepared, but you have to be prepared for the worse." Once he had finished, he seemed to realize the extent of the speech that he had just given. "Wow. That was a fucking mouthful wasn't it?"

I was worried about him. Ever since he got back from bringing us the information about the Fire Nation camp, he had been acting distant, until now that is. "Luke." I asked. "Are you all right?"

He walked to the wall of the Hive and slid down it into a sitting position. "I am, it's just that." He sighed. He took a few seconds to prepare himself to say the next part. "I spoke with Reek again. For some reason, it was worse than the last time I had spoken with him. Last time, it was at least like I knew where we stood, but now I don't even fucking know. And now, you and a quarter of what's left of the Hornets is going out on a practical suicide mission and I'm being forced to sit here, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for something to happen."

"You fell useless, don't you?" I asked as I moved to sit down next to him.

"No. I was going to say that I felt wasted, but thanks a fucking lot for that. You're really helping."

I laughed. The thing I was going to miss when I went out tonight was good humor. Aden and Meeko were assholes and Goni was brain dead. If I had my way, I would've brought Luke along just for the comic relief, but I'd be lying if I said he was bad in a fight. Compared to his state when I had first found him in the slums of Citadel, he had learned a great deal. I've seen him in street fights before. When things were really desperate in Citadel, before the nuns had come along, I saw him tackle a kid twice his size just for a piece of bread. He tackled the poor sod from behind, knocking him to the ground and when he had a harder time than expected grabbing the kid's bread, he bit his fucking ear off. That got his arms loose and Luke grabbed the piece and ran. There were worms in the bread, but he shared it with the Hive anyway.

"That's pretty much how I felt when I first joined the Hornets. It was just Riu and I back then. I was 10. He was 12. It was right after the whole Fire Nation recruiter incident."

"I've never heard the full story about that. I know what everyone else said, but that's about it. What more is there?"

"No. What you hear is pretty much how it is."

"Really? Recruiter tries to recruit Riu so he kills the recruiter."

"Yep."

"Pff. What a load of horseshit. I know there's more to it."

"Look. I said. "We'll talk more about it another time, but not here. Not now. Anyway. It was after the recruiter incidents and it was just Riu and I. Riu did all the work. He kept us safe and fed and warm. It was around winter so warmth was fucking scarce and never more important. This was before the rats or hornets and it was when the Black Eyes were still the biggest gang on the streets."

"Yeah. I remember the Black Eyes. They killed a friend of mine."

"Mini, right?"

"Yeah. Mini."

I had heard about Mini and Luke long before Luke became an information broker. They were some of the best "break-and-entriers" in the city. Before the buildings were redone in stone, however. There wasn't a building that could keep that dangerous duo out. Then the buildings were redone, the Black Eyes and their dumbass leader, Greeti didn't understand this and killed Mini when he failed to break into a stone house. They took a few feet off of him and hung him by the neck in the slum plaza.

"Well. Did I tell you how Greeting was killed?"

"Didn't one of his Black Eyes do it?"

"Nope. That was Riu. The Black Eyes had been picking on me and Riu told me he would handle it. Well, turns out, he snuck into their little hideout, slit Greeti's throat, put the knife by his number two's bed, tapped the head scout on the shoulder to get him waking up, took the number two's knife and stabbed the head of security in the stomach and snuck out. By morning, the Black Eyes had all killed each other."

"You're fucking kidding me."

"Nope. Watched it all from outside and Riu filled in the blank spots for me that I couldn't see inside. Funny thing is, I miss that Riu. That was Riu before he had a reputation. When he was still free. He didn't kill the Recruiter for street rep or the Black Eyes for that either. He did it for me. His family."

"Wait. The recruiter too?"

"What?"

"He killed the recruiter for you?"

"What? No. I-. Look. We'll talk about this another time, alright?" I got up. "Alright. Come on. Let's practice some more. And this time, give me everything you got."

When he got up this time, the devious grin on his face couldn't have been more obvious. "Oh. It would be my pleasure."

Before we knew it, it was already evening. Goni had come back a few hours ago and Aden and Meeko had just come back with news that they found an opening in the wall leading to the outside.

Luke and I had only been out of practice for 30 minutes and I was still sweating when Riu approached me. "It's getting late."

"Yep. The rest just got here so looks like Ima get going 'bout now."

"Yeah. God, but we need to talk first."

Luke's eyes followed me as Riu led me behind the lobby in the center of the courtyard where we could talk privately. I had told Luke more than I had intended to. What he would do with what I told him, I don't know, but I was just hoping that he would keep it to himself, at least for the time being.

"What's up?" I asked Riu as he leaned against the wall of the lobby. "Do you think Reek was telling the truth?"

"Guess I'll find out. Worst comes to worst and I find nothing so I just come back."

"Worst comes to worst you get yourself killed. Look, you're going out there to see what you can find and bring what you can back, okay? I'm sick of relying on these fucking nuns."

I chuckled at that. "I'm surprised. Luke told me about your relationship with them. They practically worship you."

Riu shook his head at that. "They're naïve. And besides, if it took them this long to learn to love me, how long until somebody else's sob story sways them over and we're left to rot? I'm not waiting for that to happen if you don't mind me saying."

"Riu." I called to him, trying to bring him back into reality and out of his world where reputation meant life. "What's the matter with you? I've been trying to ask this for as while now, but when did it change?"

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that now with you, it's all about reputation. I remember when it wasn't that way. 2 years ago, you told me that we were brothers. You told me that after the recruiter and when you killed the Black Eyes. You told me we were family and I believed it. Then our family got a little bigger. Hedrick joined our family, then Ladle, Lannit, and-"

"Stop."

"And then this family became a gang and I was okay with that because you still treated us like we **were** family. Then our family started fighting Miro's family and we weren't a family anymore. We were thugs. We grew larger and it was your reputation that you valued above all else. I was trying to deny it, but when you killed Genji for fucking up then I knew this wasn't a family anymore."

"Danev."

"I'm with you, Riu. You're still my brother even if I'm not yours, but you're letting the desired image of yourself blind you. You're letting it get in the way of our survival to the point that people can get hurt or killed because of **your** pride."

"Look. If you don't want to go out-"

"No. I **do** want to go out. I want to go out because I know it will help us survive. Not to help your reputation. You've reminded me more and more of late that you're in charge. I know that, but we both know that you listen to me. I wouldn't question you in front of your men, but you know that you listen to me and that I've been helping you however I could and that I've been doing good with it too."

"Danev. Why are you telling me this?"

I sighed. "Fucking hell, Riu. Even if you don't see it that way anymore, The Hive is our family. It's your family and its my family. I've been trying my damndest to keep it alive, but if I die tonight, I need to know that you won't get them killed in the name of pride, okay?"

"Danev. The Hornets are my-"

"Okay?"

He bit his lip and sighed. "Okay." Riu was older than me. He was stronger than me and even smarter than me though he very rarely relied on his wits over his brawn, but I just had to see if I still was his family. Even if he denied it, he still trusted me. He still listened to me and he still respected me. This conversation was what I needed. I needed not only the assurance that he would keep the Hornets alive, but that he was still my family, but he made that very clear next."

"Hey Danev." He called out to me. I turned around to his outstretched arm. I took it and we embraced, patting each other on the back. "You're my brother, Danev. Now and always."

"Now and always" I repeated.

We let go of each other. I never knew my real father or mother. Hell. Maybe I actually had a biological brother out there somewhere, but they didn't matter to me. Riu, he was my family. He was my brother. And that's all I needed.

"Take care of yourself out there." He told me. "Don't, well, don't kill yourself." He said with smile.

I smiled back. "Thanks. I'll try to remember that."

It was with that that I gathered my crew and said one final goodbye to Luke before leaving. I'm glad Riu pulled me aside. I don't think I would've asked him otherwise, but before I left, I needed to know that he was still my family. I needed to know that there were still people who would remember me as family if I died. Right now, that was all that I could ask for. If I couldn't get what I wanted, then I could at least get a good death. And at this rate, leaving the wall for a fortified Fire Nation camp, that was coming. Sooner than anticipated, but you know what? I felt fine. I felt ready for whatever was coming.


	23. Interlude 3: The Rat in the Hiding Place

**Luke**

The sun was down, and the hive felt emptier than usual, but for the last few months, we've been what some would call overly cautious. We wouldn't go out at night under any condition, we'd always travel as a group by day and we'd no longer leave the Hive unguarded at any point in time, but Riu was growing bolder, less overly cautious. I'm not sure if it was the influx of food that had revealed this aspect of himself or if it was the promise of weapons and supplies that Danev had implanted in him. As a result of Riu's newfound street courage, the majority of the Hive had been deployed including the man, the myth, the legend himself, Riu, Trap, and some of the others.

I was one of the lucky ones, or unlucky ones depending on who you asked, guarding the Hive. I considered myself lucky due to quite a few factors. One, the Rats were growing day by day and were quickly wrestling control of the streets away from the Hornets. Not so much in terms of occupying territory, but rather through popular support. "The heroic freedom fighters fighting back the Fire Nation and their tyrannical rule." It may have sounded ridiculous a few weeks ago, but the lengths to which it seemed to be working were frightening. Nobody would even consider giving away any information surrounding the rats. People relied on them now and the rats delivered. This wasn't the "protection" that the Hornets would offer, no. This was relief and guarantee. A guarantee of survival and freedom. From what, I don't know. Citadel? The Fire Nation? The Hornets? Who the hell knows, but what I do know is that it wasn't good for us. So, there's why I would rather spend my days within the confines of the Hive despite me knowing full well that the Rats and their Earth Kingdom supporters could easily tear down our home in a moment's notice, but an entire gang hideout disappearing in seconds is something even the Fire Nation would take note of.

As far as I was aware, the existence of Earth Benders within the city was something that only the Rats, I, and a few Hornets knew about. I don't even know **if** the other Hornets knew anything or if it was mere suspicion. I couldn't say, but frankly, I felt safe enough just where I was, sitting at the entrance of the Hive, holding the same sharpened stick I practiced with earlier today with a pile of throwing rocks at my side.

I didn't know why Riu brought Trap along with him. He was the youngest of us all and didn't know 2 things about fighting. I would know because I would practice with him and bring him to his knees every time. And I doubted it was because I had grown skilled or something. Hell, maybe Riu just didn't want Trap in the Hive. He had one of his rat incidents today where he let a very sizable one scurry away on the promise that it would bring more to come. If we weren't as well fed as we were, I have no doubt that somebody would have finally killed Trap for the little meat on his bones.

Cannibalism wasn't rare in Citadel. It was more uncommon now thanks to the nuns, but we had heard about a small group of 3 or 4 older boys who killed kids in the slums to eat them, even going so far as to go into the military district from time to time for better pickings. It was probably bullshit though. No doubt there was one cannibalism one day, then one more a few weeks later and some smartasses put together an entire odyssey in the name of a couple unlucky meals.

I think it was around two hours past the moon's descent when I felt my eyelids growing heavier only to pop back up at the sight of Trap, crouched in the alleyway, motioning for me to come out. I checked behind me into the open cafeteria to see if Ladle was still awake. He was so I could leave knowing the Hive wasn't abandoned. I looked both ways on the small alleyway street before crossing and joining up with the young Hornet.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Rats?"

"Shut up and just come with me."

I did. We moved along the alleyways until we reached the side of a collapsing building that we climbed up onto the roofs of the one-story homes. We moved from building to building, jumping the tiny gaps until Trap extended a hand to stop me from going any further, nearly tripping me in the process.

"What?" I asked. "Why are we stopping?"

Trap just put a finger over his mouth, telling me to shut up, before crouching down and pointing down the alleyway to what was a stash of equipment. Equipment I recognized.

"That's our gear. The shit the rats stole from us."

"Look closer."

I did. And there stood a kid I recognized, rummaging through the equipment as though he had stumbled upon a hidden treasure trove.

"A rat." I said. "Let's knock him out and take our gear back." I said as I started to stand up, preparing to jump off the roof right behind the young rodent before a hand on my shoulder prevented me.

"No no no no no. Not yet. Be patient."

I tried to suppress my snort of disbelief. "Patient for what. That's the gear that was stolen from us. Let's take that shit back."

"Oh Luke, Luke, Luke. You never learn. I was hoping it'd be different. Go back to the Hive and guard the entrance like a good boy. You'll understand everything soon enough, I hope."

Even in an effort to hide my confusion, I felt as though I could see my reflection in his eyes when I looked back at him. I want to say that I understood what the fuck was happening, but plain and simple, I didn't. I left. In my mind, we had passed up an opportunity to get back the gear that was stolen from us. Hit the rats in a small, but effective way and remind them that they wouldn't steal from us and get away with it, but I found myself sitting back at my post with more questions than when I left, and I was pissed.


	24. Chapter 20: The Raid

**Danev**

Getting past the wall was the easy part. I had done it before. There was nothing to it. We took a different way this time, however. Aden and Meeko guided us through the industrial innards of the wall past the collapsed support beams and fallen platforms. Entrances and exits could be seen lining the interior of the wall from the bottom with no immediate access. The dust within the wall was made visible by the many rays of light shining through arrow slits and cracks within the wall. We knew the wall was in disrepair. It was even obvious from the outside. People, for the most part, were free to leave at any time they liked. Some did. Figured it was better than starving outside. They, of course, died. Whether it was pirates, raiders, bandits, Fire Nation, or hell, even Earth Kingdom, none of them made it nearly as far as they would've liked.

That wasn't why I was here however. I wasn't here to leave. I was here because I wanted to make sure we **could** stay and live long enough for somebody else to do the hard part. Citadel was falling apart. They cared more about keeping keeping the slums rats out of the military district than they did the Earth Kingdom. And hell, if what Luke told me was right, the Earth kingdom had already started.

But I wasn't putting all my bread in one basket. I wasn't an idiot. With the siege of the Earth Kingdom city and the conquest of a good portion of their continent, what little time the Earth Kingdom had left wasn't going to be spent in comfort. Aden and Meeko led us up a stairway that neither Goni or I had comfort walking on. There was about as much chance the stairway collapsing beneath us as a child dying within the next minute. And if Citadel has taught me one thing, it's that I should be afraid of those odds.

Somehow, we made it to somewhat steady gangway brining us to a steel hatch leading us outside. I had to shield my eyes to avoid being blinded by the sudden shift of light. It was only after a good couple of minutes that I could get my first peak today of the world outside. We had made decision of leaving Citadel by an entrance near the Homeland road, meaning we were by the river that would lead out to the Eastern Sea. That wasn't our target, however. We made for the North, staying close to the wall, allowing the shadow of the setting sun to hide us from the view of the few guards actually patrolling the wall. From what Luke had told us, the Fire Nation kept closer eyes on the Inner wall than anywhere in the city. When it came to our safety, finding any concern for us was the equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack. It wasn't there. It was just something we were told to keep us looking, keep us thinking that we were safe.

We weren't. I don't think there was a living soul left in the slums of Citadel that still believed that lie.

"Camp's to the west. We get close enough that we can see the fires and we take it from there. They probably have patrols going around the area so keep your heads down in the ground. Don't do anything stupid" I made sure to say that last part with my eyes locked to Aden's. Goni, while not smart, was obedient as a good mutt should be. It was people like Aden, thinking themselves the spirits' gift to the world that got people killed. And it was just that I was trying to avoid today.

The Fires of the camp burned high, which I guess wasn't surprising when it came to the Fire Nation. We had snuck along the riverbank, crawling when necessary to make extra sure we weren't spotted. The others had their objection, but I pushed them aside. We were doing this without getting anybody killed, which meant doing things my way.

The camp lay in front of us as we ourselves lay on the ground, keeping a sharp eye on it. Blood red tents lined the better part of the river bank as squires and servants made routine trips from and to the lake to gather water for drinking, cooking, bathing the like. Tents were pitched nice and tight, banners were settled securely, and from the sound of drunken men, they weren't going anywhere anytime soon, which meant we had all the time in the world, but at the same time, it meant whatever supplies was being brought to Citadel had been unloaded and weren't packed nice and tight in carts ready for moving. That was the hard part.

From where we were positioned, we could see racks of weapons lying alongside the outskirts of the camp as well as shelves of uniforms and armor. Grabbing those uniforms would mean an easy way in, but a hard time out, especially if it meant lugging a cart behind us, but it **would** make a good distraction. I could see those same uniforms as firelight reflected off their shiny red and black armor, making them more visible than I could have hoped. My train of thought was interrupted by the grunt of a Komodo Rhino coming from further north.

"Any ideas, Danev?" I heard Goni ask from behind. They were tense. So was I, but I guess I was better at hiding it. They came here ready for a fight and every second leading up to it wasn't helping them.

"We're not getting out of here with this many Fire Nation soldiers. We need a distraction."

"Okay. Such as?" intercede Meeko.

"Further north, there's some Komodo Rhino. Let them loose, and they'll storm through the camp, destroying everything and anything in their way. Do that, and we'll have a perfect opening to get at the supplies."

"Do we know where the supplies is?"

"Unfortunately for us, it's been unloaded and maybe even unpacked. Aden, Meeko, set those Rhino free and do what you can to cause even more of a ruckus. Burn watch towers, kill stragglers, set fire to their tents, anything. Just keep them away from this part of the camp. Hell, lead them out into the woods if you can. The more time you buy us, the better."

"Got it." Said Meeko. "Should we give you a signal once we're done?"

"If you need to make a signal to tell me that the camp is in chaos, then you haven't done your job. Now go!"

They went, stalking off into the darkness of the woods, setting themselves up for probably the most dangerous act they've ever done.

"Think they'll be okay?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Hope so. Last thing we need is more dead hornets."

Aden and Meeko surprised me. I had expected one or the other, but when I saw the smoke from an uncontrolled fire go up near the northern rear of the camp sending the soldiers running followed by the stampede of Komodo Rhinos trampling them, I felt something that I could only assumed was pride.

"Go!" I said to Goni as we stood up and ran towards the camp. We stood up from the bank and immediately ran to where soldiers had been drinking and laughing seconds ago judging by the spilled tankards littering the ground around the fire.

"There! Cart!" I pointed out as I saw the empty cart across from where we were.

As we ran towards it, looking for supplies nearby, we saw another Fire go up near the Northwestern side of the camp, followed by an explosion that I could only assume was the detonation of barrels of blasting jelly.

The cart was there, but it was empty, as I had expected.

"Find the larger tents. They're probably kitchen tents and look for any fortified areas too. It's probably where they're keeping weapons. Food, medicine, water, and weapons are a priority. Find boxes. Don't bother with the loos stuff. Just grab what's packed together and bring it to the cart!"

He ran off, which led me to my dilemma. How to get the cart out of here. The cart was located near the base of a hill, which is understandable given the fact that nobody wants to haul a cart of supplies up a hill, but now that it was empty, it would be easy, and I would have a plan. I pushed that cart to where it was less steep and brought it to the top of the hill as Goni would run past every few minutes to load something onto the back. As we went about our work, it was hard to not be distracted by the chaos going on in the rest of the camp. I don't think they would've even noticed us. There was just too much going on for them to keep track of. I felt kind of sorry for them.

By the time the cart was at the peak of the hill, 13 crates had been loaded onto the back. That was the good news. The bad news: the last sound I heard coming from the Fire Nation was the sound of an explosion in the distance. When I first heard it, I had hoped it was them being blown up, but now… But now I could hear the dozens of footsteps leading right back to where we waited. I turned to Goni. Even if we got the cart down the hill, they would hear us if they didn't see us. Aden and Meeko had made their distraction, but now I had to make one more.

"Get on the cart."

"What?"

"Get on the cart as I push it down the hill. There's barely any trees in your way. Let the inertia take you past the tree line and take the crates to the opening in the wall from where we came. Stash them in the wall and tell Aden. You have enough supplies in there to last you half a year. Don't lose it. Don't let the Fire Nation spot you and for Spirits' sake, do not let the Rats steal it off of you. Got it?!"

"Danev, what are you-?"

"Got it?"

He looked down at his feet, not able to bring himself to look me in the eye as he agreed to leave me behind. "I got it."

"Good. Get on the back. I'll be right behind you."

I wouldn't.

Goni sat himself on the back of the cart as I raised the brake anchor on the back of the cart and I pushed the cart to get the one rotation I needed to kick off the cart's journey back to Citadel.

"Danev!" I heard Goni yell to me from the front of the cart as he was rummaging through the loot he had taken for the Hornets. "You'll need this." And as I made the last rotation, sending the cart down the hill, away from the Fire Nation straight back into their claws in Citadel, Goni threw me the sword that I caught mid-air.

It was the first time I'd held steel. In Citadel, I had once before held an iron sword. Old Fire Nation weapons that were now out of service. Now, however, I had what I'd always dreamed of whenever I held those rusty iron swords. Pure steel. The weight, I know, was heavier, but somehow felt lighter in my hands. I was meant to be holding this. I felt ready for whatever came.

"There he is!" I heard the first Fire Nation soldier to spot me shout as he charged towards me. A second masked Fire Nation soldier stepped out from behind a tent and sent a blaze of fire flying through the air which I had to jump to avoid, sending myself to the base of the hill. I'd always hard of Firebenders but had never seen them in action. Guess Citadel wasn't important enough to warrant their presence. Now, however, I realized that I never should have hoped to see them in action someday.

I stood up just in time to meet the first soldier who charged towards me. I threw myself aside to avoid his spear and swung my sword at the lousy piece of metal attached to wood, cutting straight through the spear, leaving the soldier only with a splintered stick. I pressed my advantage before he could reach for his own broadsword and swung at his head. The blow didn't kill him, but was deflected by his helmet, knocking him to the ground unconscious. I looked up just in time to see the firebender prepare a second blast as more soldiers appeared from the innards of the camp, all coming to meet me in combat. What can I say? There was something exhilarating about getting this much attention, feeling this important. Even if it was to kill me.

I didn't wait for the firebender to make the first move. I charged. He hesitated. Fire Nation soldiers, they thought themselves invincible. So, when they saw somebody charging them, it got them doubting. And them doubting and hesitating was just what I needed. I swung at the unarmed firebender, cutting through his slightly outstretched arm, sending him to the ground, grasping his wound as he let out a mechanical shout through the white mask of his helmet.

The other Fire Nation soldiers had now switched to swords, realizing this would be a longer fight. They were alive. And I didn't see Aden and Meeko. And the Fire Nation wasn't known to take prisoners unless it was in their interest. And I highly doubt that a few slum kids were any concern of the Fire Nation.

I realized now that Luke was right. I wasn't fighting mindless grunts. I was fighting soldiers who had trained for events like this. This played to their strength, and their strength here was numbers. They already started to surround me, but I wouldn't wait until I was in the middle of their ever-growing circle. I pushed. I charged the soldier directly in front of me, catching him off guard judging by the look in his eyes. I was lucky enough to be against non-benders now or I would have already found myself in the center of a 10-man flamethrower, but that wasn't the case, so I took advantage of that. I swung my sword upwards, catching him in the shoulder between the chest and shoulder plate, cutting upwards through the leather pauldron, up to his helmet, knocking it clean off with a nice spray of blood to accompany it. I turned to the soldier next to him, but felt a sharp pain go through the rear of my left knee, sending me kneeling to the ground. I looked around to a Fire Nation soldier holding a bloodied sword up, ready to bring it down again and end it.

I passed my sword to my left hand and turned my torso to the left, swinging at his legs, cutting through the leather boots and cloth uniform, making a sizable gash that sent him to the ground. I made an attempt to stand, but felt a pain against my chest as a soldier's boot sent me to the ground. I tried to get my left hand up, but felt a different soldier's boot find ground on my wrist, pushing until my hands were forced to open, releasing the blade. I kicked my good leg at the soldier standing in front of me who had a spear raised, pointed straight to my neck, sending him stumbling back. I bent forward and bit at the leg of the soldier standing on my chest. I met flesh and tasted blood, sending his foot away from my chest. I was starting to raise myself to fight at the soldier stepping on my wrist until the same soldier I had bitten kicked at my head, turning my vision into a haze before feeling that same foot back on my chest. I writhed with all I could, but there wasn't anything that could stop the weapon being held above my head that I couldn't even differentiate through my haze of a vision. I saw it being razed, and saw it in the fraction of a second as it grew in my vision, making its way towards closer and closer to my head until there was nothing. Only black. Only. Darkness.


	25. Chapter 21: The Condition

**Luke**

I couldn't have told what time it was. If I were to make an educated guess, I would've said somewhere around 3 in the morning. Maybe 4. I know my shift started at midnight and ended at 6. Seemed long, but It was only twice a week that I stood guard, what with the A Team always running missions throughout the day and night. I'd been keeping an eye out for them since my shift began. Save the funny business with Trap, it'd been uneventful for the most part. I was still wondering if I would tell anybody I saw a Rat. Trap seemed to have some idea of what he was doing, but then again, that was Trap we were talking about. He wasn't the most "mentally present" of the Hornets. No, that title would probably go to Danev. Definitely the most cool-headed among us, but also somebody you can go to when shit needs doing.

This whole business with the Fire Nation camp, that was some of that same shit, but this was more than what any of us were used to. Maybe things were different before I joined up with the Hornets, but even before then, from what I'd learned at the very least, it was more or less the same. No grand risks or major run ins with the Fire nation. Hell, from what I'd been told, the convoy raid that would end up getting Lannit, Heddik, and Genji killed, was one of the biggest events for the Hornets. And ever since the gang war with the Rats had come to a close, there'd never really been any major conflicts. Save tonight. That changed tonight. We were, without a doubt, getting ourselves into some deep shit. It could go three ways, way I see it: One, we fail, piss the Fire nation off, and get ourselves killed either before or after they kill off the Rats, 2, we succeed, but get caught, leading to the same outcome, and 3, we succeed, get away with it, and use our supplies to reignite the gang war with the Rats. Either way, war is coming. With who, was still up for debate.

Considering I had spent the entirety of my shift trying to stay awake, looking for any sign of the returning victors, I was alert when I saw the shadowy figure walking down the street. I thought it could have been one of us, but it was just that. There was only one. It wasn't our screw. But it was. That much was revealed when he stepped into the torch light of the scones at the Hive entrance.

"Goni?" I asked, surprised to see him. Much more surprised to be seeing just him. "What's going on?"

I realized then that he had been running. He leaned against the wall to the Hive, huffing and puffing, trying to regain his breath while at the same time, trying to get his words out, unable to do one at a time. I stood up to get at a better position to talk to him. "Slow down. Breathe."

By now, with slightly more air in his lungs, he was able to get some, but not many words out: "We got…the camp…but the Fire Nation…Aden and…Don't know where…Supplies…But Danev…"

 _Danev._ "What? What about him?" I asked, admittedly raising my voice in anxiety.

"He said…Back to the wall…hide…supplies there…"

"Riu!" I yelled, probably waking the entire Hive just for one man. "Catch your breath, Goni."

"Danev…There were so many…He said the supplies…We needed it more than…"

Riu was downstairs now, more than pissed about having been awaken at this hour of the morning. "What happened?!" he yelled, questioning the situation.

He had regained his breath, but was still not answering the question on everyone's mind. "I don't know where Aden and Meeko are. There were just so many. I brought the supplies to the wall, but I just don't kno- "

"Goni!" I said, putting my hands on his shoulders, snapping him back to reality. "Where's Danev?"

 **Danev**

My vision was coming back. Slowly, but surely enough. The first thing I saw was grey. I thought it was just my eyes at first, but as the haze started going away over the next grueling hours, I managed to make out the bolts within the metal sheets. The first thing I thought of was the wall. Similar design. Pretty much the same architecture. It wasn't the Hive. That much I knew.

I was lying on a bed. That was something I hadn't managed to say in the last couple of years. I think the last time I had a bed was when the Hornets raided that clinic. We spent the night and Riu let me take the bed that day. Said that I showed something of a spine that day and I needed to let it rest. I beat the shit out of that hired guard that day. Must've impressed Riu something good. Just thinking about it put a smile back on my face. But as comfortable as the bed was, I knew where I was. I knew that It wasn't the Hive. It wasn't where I was supposed to be.

I turned my head to my right, shifting my gaze to a wall just as metallic as the ceiling, housing metal scones with white candles occupying them. I tried to shift my gaze to my left, but my neck wouldn't let me, at least not without pain. Must've lied down the wrong way, bit I'd done worse. I moved my entire body in the bed to have myself facing the left wall. I saw the Fire Nation banner, and just like that, I was fully awake.

I nearly rolled off the bed just in an attempt to not face the insignia a second longer. That's when everything that had happened the night before- _Was it a night before. Why does it feel so long ago?_ That's when more memories come back: being dragged by the legs along the grassy plains, being loaded onto a cart, and then darkness. I remembered the battle thought. That's what was important. I remembered what, or rather who, had left me like this.

I made my first attempt to sit up, but only managed to raise myself a good 2 inches or so before the pain became too much to bare and I fell back down. _That's weird. I don't remember being injured in the back. Could just be after so long not using it._ I promised myself to make the same attempt in another minute. I did. It didn't go much better, but this time when I fell back on the bed, a shock of pain went up my spine, sending a piercing brain straight to my forehead. I don't know If I yelled, but a few seconds later, a man in a maroon red robe as well as a woman in a lighter red outfit came bursting in. I recognized the Fire Nation attire, and figured it was soon enough to make a third attempt.

"He shouldn't be awake!" I saw the man shout to the woman as he rushed towards me, placing his hands on my chest and shoulders, keeping me down. "Bring the ginger tea." The woman left to fetch what I assume was something to dull my senses. I made my fourth attempt, this time battling the strength of the doctor. While the man didn't seem like a particularly strong type, it was enough. No amount of rolling from side to side would save me. When the Woman came rushing back inside, the fight in me came back. I pushed up one more time, surprising to doctor, sending him back away. I managed to even sit completely up on my ass before I was brought back down once again, my mouth was opened, and a warm substance went down my throat. And in a sensation just as warm as the tea, sleep took me once again.

 **Zar'un**

I had gotten the report the morning after. That was 2 weeks ago, but the contents still plagued my mind:

 _Raid at Snake's Tail Forest Camp_

 _Attackers: Bandits (Young 12-14)_

 _Friendly Casualties:_

 _13: 9 Injured, 4 Dead_

 _Enemy Casualties_

 _3: 2 Injured, 1 Dead_

 _Report: A distraction was initiated when the Northern third of the camp was set ablaze with tents and watchtowers being burnt to the ground. While troops were sent to investigate, Komodo Rhinos were set loose, trampling and injuring the majority of the camp defenders while killing one. 2 Infiltrators were pursued into the forest while using stolen explosives to ward off Fire Nation pursuers. The escapees were chased to the river where they were cut off and forced to make a last stand. They injured one soldier, but were brought down with one being killed instantly and the other receiving major injuries. On a return to the camp, one addition infiltrator was spotted and engaged in combat. 3 of our men were injured while the fourth died of blood loss from his injuries. The infiltrator was injured and rendered unconscious. Following the battle, it was realized that supplies from around the camp, mainly food, water, medicine, and weapons was missing as well as a cart. The Area west of the forest was investigated, but no trace could be found. We assume there had been one additional infiltrator who managed to escape with a fair amount of supplies. I have dispatched search parties around the Forest to find our target. He will be found. He has Citadel to the South, a river to the north and us to the East. We know where he's going._

 _Lieutenant Zi-Wong_

Idiots. The lot of them. These were Hornets. I knew they weren't Rats. I saw the body they brought in. Meeko. He's normally acting security at the Hive. _What was he doing all the way outside the wall?_ I intended to find out. Nurse Zey had come into my office a few minutes ago to tell me that Danev was awake and stabilized. The other one, Aden, was still unconscious. Say he's in a coma. Probably for the better too. If there's one thing Aden was known for on the streets, it was his temper and what he's capable of when he's angry. I was more than happy to have Danev be the one I talked to.

I put on the rank paldrons and bracers before I left. I didn't believe that Danev would be intimidated by me, but I do believe that it's important that he remembers the power I have in Citadel. I need him to remember what happened to the Hornets the last time they crossed me.

 **Danev**

Now, I had been awake for say, 4 hours. New record. I didn't know what time of the day it was, much less **what** day it was. I would try posing the same questions to the doctor and nurse that would pass every now and then, but would get no answers. The Doctor would tell me to stay quiet, but the Nurse would plain out refuse to talk. Don't know if it was a dislike for me or a reluctance to form any sort of attachment before I was killed or dumped back out on the streets, but even I didn't think I was getting **that** lucky.

The first time I even heard her voice was when she softly opened the door to my hospital room which just so happened to be a cell and said to somebody outside that I was awake. It was a nice soft voice. Kind too, but that left my mind when I saw Zar'un walk in, clad in full ranking uniform. The memories came back to that day at the Hive when he killed Genji. _No. Anyone but him._ But it was a child's wish. Of course, it would be him. Who else?

"Danev." He said softly, but sternly, pulling up a chair next to my bed, sitting down on it facing the door rather than facing me. "It's good to see that you're awake. You have my condolences for your friend."

 _My friend? You mean the same friends I had been asking about every 5 minutes when I was lucky enough to be awake and conscious?_ "Why? What happened?"

"I'm afraid Meeko Therik was killed in combat while Aden Korun sustained heavy injuries."

I had never heard their last name before. Hell. I'm surprised those were their real names. Danev was mine, but even I couldn't remember my last name. It got me wondering how the Fire Nation knew their names. Maybe old records from a more organized age. Who knew? But Meeko was dead. It wasn't easy to here. He wasn't my friend by any means. We didn't get along great, but he was still one of us. Still family. Zar'un had mentioned 2 friends. There was no mention of Goni. And I wouldn't dare speak his name.

"However," he said next. "I'm afraid we have no news on your supply runner."

He knows there as a fourth, but he doesn't know who. If all had gone slightly according to plan, the Hornets had already gathered the supplies that Goni stashed in the wall. Hopefully Goni was smart enough to dump the cart too. Roll it somewhere else, burn it, sink it, I don't know, but at least get rid of it.

"Sucks to be you, then."

He smiled for a second, then frowned. "No. As a matter of fact, I think this doesn't have to 'suck' for either of us. We both lost something. You lost people. I lost people. This exchange of violence has gone to serve neither of us."

"I wouldn't say that."

" **I** would. Your whole raid was reliant on 2 things: stealth and stupidity. Luckily, I'm not as stupid as those idiots up at the camp you raided. Morons let you literally trample all over them."

I remembered those Komodo Rhinos charging through the camp, trampling soldiers, tents, and anything else in their path. The memory of that short-lived success put a nice warm smile on my face.

"It was impressive, but you failed on 2 aspects. Stealth. We found your men including yourself and you suffered for it. And maybe the Hornets would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for the fact that I'm not as stupid as all of my men. I know you. I know your faces. And I know where you live. What were you thinking? Even if you got the supplies away like you did, I would be coming for your ass."

"With what soldiers? You don't have enough to even guard your walls. How do you think we got out and back in?"

"How about the 50 soldiers I have camped outside these walls. The tunnel's built. The rest of the supplies is within the inner walls and these soldiers are staying for the time being. As long as they're here, they're under my command. I can have them march on the Hive tomorrow to slaughter the lot of you."

I sat up from my spot on the bed, lurching forward. I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe If I killed him I could spare the Hornets, but the ginger tea was still going through my head from this morning. My vison became a haze once again and I fell back down onto my back.

"So why don't you? How do I know that you haven't already done so, and all my friends haven't been reduced to corpses and ash?"

"Because then I would've tied up all loose ends and you'd be dead too. No. I mentioned a way to make this not a disaster for both of us. Clearly, you know that the Rats have become a problem out on the streets."

"It's that obvious, huh? Guess that's what you called getting your asses kicked by street urchins." The comment didn't faze him. Or at least he didn't let it show.

"I have a proposition that I would like you to bring back to Riu once your leg is healed enough to allow you to walk back on your own. I am willing to offer you, Riu, and the rest of the Hornets safe passage and lodging in the military district where you will be enlisted into the Fire Nation military. You will be provided with clean food, water, medical assistance, and shelter."

That. That was not what I had expected to hear when he came in. That's what the dream was in the slums, right? Safety? It was in front of not just me, but all of us, right now. But we a deal with Zar'un before and it ended with 3 of us dead, but in all fairness, it was us who had broken that arrangement. And we suffered for it. However, I didn't think it would be a problem this time. For once, The Fire Nation and the Hornets shared a common interest. I knew what we had to do in return, but I had to hear him say it.

"In exchange for what?"

Finally, he looked towards me to tell us the condition for The Hornets' survival. "We need you to kill the Rats."


	26. Interlude 4: Home

**Danev**

Walking back through the slums, it wasn't hard to tell that I was home. Somehow, it was all the same, but different. It wasn't even that long. At most, 4 weeks. I hadn't been told just how long I was gone, but I knew that in Citadel, even 4 weeks could make one hell of a difference. I saw that difference as I walked my way back through the walls of the Hive. There were no guards. At first, I wasn't even sure if anyone was home. For all I know, the turf war could have been reignited without me, but that wasn't the case.

When I walked into that courtyard, and the domino effect of stares turning towards me finally filled the plaza, I knew what it was. War. They already had it all. Every single hornet held iron swords and spears. Some held bows and Goni wielded a crossbow, bolt loaded. They all had their eyes on me, and I had my eyes on them. It was as though none of them knew how to react. As though I were a ghost and they were curious, yet terrified. It wasn't until Riu pushed his way through the congested crowd to the front to see me face to face that I knew I was home.

Then something unexpected happen. He walked up to me. And _hugged_ me. It wasn't the kind of hug that lovers would share, no. It was the embrace that friends, that brothers would share after a long separation. While 4 weeks may not have been considered long, the idea of death being a factor may have played in. He patted me on the back and stood back, rejoining the crowd. By now, I was caught in a circle of hornets.

Handshakes, high fives, hugs, all of it. I was with my family. I couldn't even hear the distinct comments and "welcome backs", but it didn't matter. I had been away from home. I had been away from my family, my "brother". But that didn't matter. I was back now.

Any doubts I had before about the agreement with the Fire Nation were dead now. This was my family. And I was getting them out of this alive. Even if it took killing every last hornet, we would keep this family alive. **I** would keep this family alive.

 _Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter. It's late and I'm pretty damn tired. This is the last interlude of this story. I might post a real chapter tomorrow. Who knows._


	27. Chapter 22: The War: Part 1: Skirmish

**Danev**

"And you believed him?" Riu asked from across the table. He had closed off the cafeteria from the rest of the Hornets just for this "meeting" as he called it. Really, it was me trying to get him on board with the Fire Nation's offer.

"I wasn't exactly in a position to question what he was saying, but yeah. I've thought about it for around a week or so, and yeah. I believe, that if we do what they asked of us, they'll hold up their end of the bargain and let us in the military district."

"Do you realize how little fucking sense that makes?" Why would they take us in? We're just more damn mouths to feed."

"Mouths that work. Obviously, they expect something from us. They said we'd be enlisted into the Fire Nation military."

"And us killing the Rats is our rite of passage? Believe me, I have no problem killing those Rat scum. We've already been making some good steps in that direction while you were gone, but doing it for the Fire Nation? I just don't know."

"What difference does it make. The whole point of us getting this supplies in the first place was to wage war against the Rats. Are you saying that now that we have the go-ahead from the Fire Nation, the idea doesn't seem as intriguing?"

"No, but I **am** hesitant in making deals with the Fire Nation. How many people got killed because of it last time? Genji, Heddik, Sunji, Lanni- "

"A good number of us, I know. Genji died because he was a fuck up who couldn't be trusted. I agreed with you on that. Sunji was in the wrong place at the wrong time and Heddik and Lannit were killed because they were too aggressive."

"They were Hornets"

"And they fucked up. I know they were family, but they made mistakes and paid the price. That won't happen this time. We have one job, and that's to carry out the destruction of the Rats. I believe we're perfectly capable of doing that. We do that, and we're home free. Food, water, shelter. We may have some of this stuff now, but how long will that last. I looked through our stocks and yes, the raid on the Fire Nation camp helped, but over the last 4 weeks, you've been eating, and I can't help but notice that you haven't been rationing like we should be."

Riu looked down at the table, as though his parent had scolded him. Was that what I was? A parent there to scold him. If so, I definitely didn't have the authority becoming of one. "I know." He said. "They've earned it, though. That's all."

"I know they've earned it, but my point is, we don't have a choice. At this rate, we'll be running out of food in five weeks. The water purification supplies we took from the camp is being worn down and isn't being maintained. We could probably keep it running another 6 weeks at most, then it's back to sewage water. Also, I don't know if you've checked the Hive walls recently, but it's just falling apart. No way around it. Luke and I patched a hole in the wall the other day with a bookshelf. A fucking bookshelf. This entire city is falling apart. We need to get out of here before it does."

He let out a sigh that carried any potential argument he was planning on making and just let his head fall into his hands. "I know you're right, but come on. For our entire lives, the Fire Nation's been the enemy. How am I supposed to tell them that we're suddenly buddy buddy?"

"Riu," I said, putting a hand on the table. "You're the only one who sees it this way. The Hornets here. Our family. They're worried about one thing. Survival. That's all they've come to learn in Citadel. When they hear that they're being given a chance to survive, they'll take it. You're the only one here who looks past survival, and that's a good thing. We need that, but we need to have priorities. And right now. That number one priority is living to fight another day.

There was a pause. I wasn't bullshitting him, and I think he saw that. I think that's what it was that got him on board. "Fuck it. So, do I need to go over there and sign some paper or some bullshit?"

"No. They asked for one thing. Results. And we're going to get results."

"Damn it. Fine. We'll get their fucking results." He leaned back in his chair, wiping off some of the summer sweat that the humidity of the Hive cafeteria didn't alleviate.

"So." I said, changing the topic. "I've been gone for 4 weeks. How've we been doing against the rats so far?"

He sat back up, now talking about a subject he was expert in. War. "Well." He said. "During the last 4 weeks. We thought you and the others dead. And from what Goni told us, the Fire Nation had just killed three of our friends. We were planning a retaliatory strike. Among what you and the others stole, there was a packet of blasting jelly. We were going to send Luke inside the military district and plant some of it at the base of the Citadel command spire and hope to kill some soldiers in the process."

 _What in the actual fuck?_

"What in the actual fuck? Did Luke volunteer for that?"

"No, but we figured he'd step up to it if we had to. He's grown quite a lot. Definitely grown on me. Good catch with that one."

"Were you planning on him getting out after planting that bomb?"

"Of course. We know about that secret entrance into the inner district through that warehouse. We'd just fetch him from there, but, seeing that your so concerned about your star pupil dying in some horrible explosion, you'll be glad to know that we had a change of plans a while back."

"What kind of 'change of plans'"

"Well." He said, looking to the side, thinking of how to word his next sentence, somewhat grinning while doing so. "It's hard to explain, but Trap. Fucking Trap. I think it's just best you see for yourself."

And with that, he stood up, motioning towards me to follow. I didn't know what Riu was planning on showing me, but I had a feeling that I wouldn't like it.

 **Luke**

If somebody were to walk past me on the street and ask me about Trap, there's one word I'd use to describe him. "Off." Yeah. "Off" is a good enough word. Frankly, I couldn't think of anything else that would be an appropriate match for him. When I first met him when I had joined the Hornets, I saw him as some kind of fucked up lunatic. Later, when we were running low on food, nearly starving, my thoughts on him were only validated as the son of a bitch would let his rats go saying that letting them feel safe would only help us in the future to get a jump on them.

I don't know if that kid is a fucking psychic, but if you told me, during that time when I was starving my ass off that Trap was one of the smartest people alive in the damn city, I would've willingly puked my guts out laughing one last time before dropping dead out of hysteria.

So, 7 nights ago, when Trap led me outside to where we had seen that rat taking pickings at our stash of gear in the alleyway, only to see 4 Rats, taking picking at our gear, I started to get the idea. He handed me a knife as I had come out unarmed as I was in the middle of sleeping that night and told me to "watch and learn." Then, he whistled the most beautiful yet terrifying of whistles, summoning 7 other of our Hornets who I hadn't even seen atop the rooftops to stand up and raise bows and spears and swords, and other varied weapons at the Rats waiting below, caught in one of the most well executed traps I had ever seen. One ran off, got an arrow in his back that came out straight through the belly, and fell dead. The rest had laid down whatever arms they held and were on their knees. Trap lept down from the roof first, laughing all the while, letting a snort leave here and there. He would look back on me every now and then as he and the other Hornets tied up the Rats, but I guess my look of dumbfoundedness only increased his laughter. It was when the Rats had been led out of the alley back to the Hive, and the bait gear was packed up that Trap, finally recovering from his hysteria, looked back at me and said, "You all thought I was an idiot, didn't ya? It's like I told you all, let one Rat leave, and more will come."

Sleeping that night, was, well, tough. To say the least. I don't know if it was because I still couldn't believe how wrong I was about Trap's potential for intricate thought, or if I had become absolutely terrified of him. Shit. Maybe both.

It didn't help to alleviate my fear when I was the one sent to guard the Rats' cell, waiting until the next time that Trap and some other Hornet, whether being Goni, Sar'di, or even Riu. The cells, being made of stone, blocked most noise. Most. What I did hear wasn't pleasant to say the least, but, it worked. Every time, Trap would come out and tell me what we learned with the same enthusiasm of a child showing his parent what he drew at school that day.

One day, it was a stash location. The next, it was a patrol route. Trap was convinced he was getting close to the Rat hideout. Then, Sar'di, being the aggressive fuck, he is, beat the shit out of one of the prisoners when an interrogation wasn't going so well. I heard the screams from outside the cell and rushed in to find Trap huddled in a corner while Sar'di was beating on the Rat in the center of the cell as the two others were chained to the walls, mouths gagged. I had to call in Goni to rip Sar'di off the poor kid. Kid was half dead, eye swollen shut, mouth bleeding, nose bleeding, shit, everything bleeding. He didn't survive 'till the night.

I don't know what Riu was more pissed by. One of his own killing a prisoner, or the fact that the two remaining prisoners refused to talk since. Probably the latter if I'm being honest. Now, I'm guarding a cell with 2 near dead boys who are barely being fed ad watered. Danev's back and we have new orders. Kill all Rats. I had a bad feeling about what that meant for a fair amount of people living in the slums of Citadel, but an even worse feeling for the two remaining kids inside. I hadn't even gotten their names, but felt pity for them all the same. Way I saw it, today was their last day on earth. We had a whole list of Rat targets to hit thanks to them. All but their hideout. Even if they were so courteous as to tell us, they would die all the same. Those were orders, weren't they? "Kill all Rats."

Down the hall, I saw Danev and Riu, Trap in between them walking towards me and the cell. _So, this is it._ I stepped aside. I wasn't getting in anyone's way. I opened the cell door and could've sworn I heard the whimpering of frightened Rats as they took their steps inside. _I'm sorry._ But nonetheless, I closed the door behind Riu and the others. There were 5 inside right now. 3 would come out in a few minutes. In a few hours, 2 more would be coming out. The state in which they would be coming out was something I didn't want to think about at the moment.

We were going to war. Was I scared? Yes. I had seen gang warfare in Citadel, but I was never on a single side. I played both sides. Gave information to each. This would be, what? The third gang war between the Hornets and the Rats. The first was a clear win for the Hornets. The second ended with a mutual ceasefire with the Rats having a clear advantage. Tides shifted, and tables turned. Now, we were the underdogs. Or at least that's how the slums saw it. I heard the screams coming from the inside as the final of the many interrogations took place. _It's going to be a rude awakening for the slums._

 **Reek**

Janick was pacing back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. 6 days ago, we found the body of Kar'den with a broken arrow through his belly. His body was still warm, and we assumed he had just been killed the night before. Aside from that, Jordah, Kadik, and Farrick were missing. And **aside from** **that,** we found Jordah's body this morning in a dumpster by Arsenal street, rotting of maggots and his own shit. Janick thought, well, he **knew** it was the Hornets. "Who else?" he had asked Miro. "The Fire Nation? They're assholes, I admit, but this is the kind of shit the Hornets do. We need to hit back."

Miro argued it was more important that they find Kadik and Farrick first. Janick agreed, but said that if we didn't do something soon, we **would** find them, but just inside another dumpster.

And now, Janick was gathering people. Gathering people for what he said was revenge. Didn't mention anything about a rescue mission. Treated it like Kadik and Farrick were already dead. And I wasn't stupid. They probably were. Janick first asked Mu, who in turn, asked Sarik, who asked Mouse, who asked me. And when I asked if Miro knew and they said "no", I knew my answer would be the same. I wasn't going to start going behind Miro's back. It wasn't fear, no. It was loyalty. Respect. I was loyal to the Rats, which meant listening to our leader's advice and not going behind his back, but it **also** meant not betraying the trust of our own. I wouldn't join the rogue Rats, but I wouldn't betray their rats either and give their intentions away. Unless I was asked directly of course. I wanted them to succeed. I did. The Hornets, if it really was them, which it probably was, went way to far, killing our people. And from what I saw was left of us Jordah, they weren't just murdering our own, they were taking their sweet time with it too.

I refused to believe it had been Luke. I knew he was one of them now, but I still couldn't believe he could be capable of something like that. _Right._ No. of course not. It was quiet day. The Earthbender hadn't come back for over 2 weeks now and we were getting nervous something had happened. Maybe the situation had gotten worse at Ba-Sing-Se, I don't know, but we were taking on new recruits eager to fight the Hornets and Fire Nation for a better life and they needed food, water, and equipment. With the new tunnel going straight through the slums, the Fire Nation didn't need to give the nuns food anymore to distract people from raiding Fire Nation convoys, which meant no more food going to the common people of the slums.

We Rats were being more than generous with our dwindling amount. Miro had organized some of the Rats and street urchins to set up a rooftop garden on what was once a Fire Nation barracks. I think he did it purely for the irony. It was that, and many more incidents that made me realize something. Miro hated war. He didn't want to fight. He left that to Janick. Miro wanted to leave. He wanted to not only grab his people, but everyone in the slums, and lead them away, to somewhere better. How he would, I don't know, but I know he'd die trying. He loved his fellow Rats like his own family. So, 2 days later, during the night when Janick and his crew had come back, carrying the mutilated bodies of Kadik and Farrick between them, and Miro asked for a moment to be lone, I knew he was crying. Not because he was a coward and afraid of war. His family, hi brothers had just been killed. And he had failed them. But Miro was human. He wasn't an idiot and he knew what the rest of the Rats, including myself were thinking. War was coming. So, when we heard about a Hornet raid on our garden where two of our own were killed, we knew that it wasn't avoidable. _War_ _ **had**_ _come._ There was no more postponing it or avoiding it. Miro rearranged us into fighting groups once again, on the verge of a nervous breakdown as he did so. We were his family and he was sending his family to war. We all understood, but still, Miro didn't.

Miro never wanted war. He just wanted something better.

But I wasn't like Miro. I knew, that sometimes, you have to get dirty to cross over to the other side. I knew the Rats were ready because we were. We were ready to give our lives for Miro, but I didn't know if Miro was ready for us to do so. I didn't think he was, but now, he no longer had a choice. War was here, and he would have to be ready. Whether he liked it or not.


	28. Chapter 23: The War: Part 2: The Trap

**Luke**

I didn't pay attention to the seasons so much. Didn't have much of a need to keep track of time. Didn't really care to pay attention to it until it started affecting me. And that's just what it was doing today. It was cold. Actually fucking cold. Not some brief breeze that snuck its way over the steel walls, but an actual, round-the-clock cold. It wasn't raining yet, but there were actually clouds in the sky. I normally didn't look up as if I did, there was a good chance I would either get knocked over the head by some little punk kid or have something of mine stolen, but right now, I wasn't worried about that.

Goni, Trap, and I were waiting in an alley nearby the grain street. While the Hornets were down and out of the game, the Rats had gotten the allegiance of most small business still operating around the town. The Nuns were some of the only people who actually preferred the Hornets, but that's mostly due to their only knowledge of us being what Riu told them. They didn't know better. And now they were gone. I heard mixed reports about them. Some said Fire Nation stopped sharing food with them. Others said that the farms they used around Ba-Sing-Se were put to the torch. Either way, they had packed up and left. Too bad for the slums. They wouldn't be getting any food from the Hornets, so naturally, they turn to the friendly neighborhood gang, the Rats.

We attacked and looted a garden they were setting up a few days ago. Some Rats died there from what I heard. I wasn't there. Was on guard duty at the Hive. Turns out Mat'ik was killed there by the Rats. Didn't know him very well. Danev liked him, so I guess I still felt pity either way.

Anyways. We were waiting in an alley by the Grain street. From what we heard, the nuns donated all remaining food to the slums before they left. The Rats didn't want us getting to it first, so they hoarded it all away and began distributing it to the people. Seemed selfish but was probably smarter. Keep the food within arm's reach and appear as saints to the people. We were lucky we got the location of the stash out of the prisoners. There was no way in hell anybody on the streets would've given it to us. At least not without "encouragement." And I've seen the "encouragement" that Trap provided. These people could consider themselves lucky for a lack of it.

I was looking out a corner of the alley, keeping an eye on the one-man patrol going around the stash. He didn't make it obvious though. He went into alleys nowhere near the stash, went down fake roads. Anybody not watching for over 10 minutes would think he was just on an average stroll. Except we knew what he was hiding and where it was.

The sentry walked into the alley where we stood as part of his masquerade to feign an average walk. I tried to keep my teeth from clattering, giving me away as I signaled towards Goni that he was hear. I reared back as I heard the footsteps approach, growing louder.

The sentry hadn't even turned the corner before he was grabbed by the arm and the neck, and thrown to the wall of the alley, knocking him out right then and there, leaving a nice crimson blot on the stone wall.

We crossed the grain street and the people, at this point, now had a good idea as to what was going down. They silently changed directions, hoping to get as far away from the soon to be skirmish as quickly as possible.

I took my place on the right side of the door as Goni took the left, club in hand. I knocked the secret knock on the door. A cute series of taps and waits that was responded to by the opening of the door.

The door hadn't opened an inch before Goni pulled the door wide open, nearly pulling the Rat down with it. The opening was enough for him and he swung wide and hard, batting the Rat square in the face, knocking him down backwards into the building with a small crimson splash of blood. He wasn't dead, but he wouldn't be waking up for a good few hours. And when he did, it would be met with a pain in the dead worse than little much else.

We stormed inside. The food was there. We loaded our sacks full with as much as we could until we could barely close them. There was still some food left, but we weren't waiting for Rats to come and take what they wanted. We threw everything off the shelves, piling it all near the far corner of the room, all bundled together. Trap came with a small pouch of blasting jelly, sprinkling it over the pile of goodies before striking the flint and steel, setting the pile ablaze. We left just as quickly as the pile took aflame, leaving a nice message reading "Fuck you" behind.

I was tempted to spend a few more minutes by the fire as the risk was preferable to damn cold outside, but I couldn't complain. As soon as the adrenaline ended its course through my body, I felt something strange. Pride maybe? I don't know, but I was alive. We won today and that's what mattered. Right?

"Alright" Goni said. "That was good. Where to now, Trap?"

Trap was responsible for memorizing the information he had gotten from the Rats. Refused to write it down as, according to him, "written words aren't reliable." I know he just can't read, but I still can't understand how somebody like him could capture an interrogate an entire group of gang members. Actually, you know what? Insane, psychotic, terrifying, yeah. He was the golden boy of interrogation.

"Danev and Riu were going to the iron works, so they'll be at arsenal. We'll see them there."

"Sounds good." I said. "They'll probably be done by now and we'll meet up with them to see where we go next."

"Perfect." Said Goni. "Let's not keep them waiting."

 **Danev**

I had never gone to the blacksmith in the slums. I had seen it before, but it had changed more hands than I could count. Sometimes you had somebody sympathetic to the Hornets, then someone to the Rats. You never knew. This time, it was the latter. The man was supposedly from Ba-Sing-Se. How the Fire Nation hadn't found him yet was beyond me. _Whatever they had going inside their fancy walls better be worth this shit._

I knelt down by Riu who was waiting, short sword in hand. You could tell it was Fire Nation by design. I tried telling Riu it was a risk carrying it around, but he insisted that anybody who saw it up close wouldn't remember anything about it. Guess we would be testing that theory right now.

"2 by the entrance. Iron swords. Smithy's not home."

"Fuck. Sure, he's not inside?"

"Yes. He's not here. Could be making deliveries. This could work though. If he comes back to see his security fucked up and his shop burned to ash, maybe he'll reconsider allegiance."

"Fuck his allegiance. You said yourself that we kill the Rats and those associated with them. What does his allegiance count for?"

"Fire Nation might look kindly on more helping hands than they had before."

"Fuck it. Fine. Let's go."

He tossed the sword from hand to hand. A nervous king I had picked up on over the years. He was a soldier by heart, but a smart soldier knew when to be nervous. We weren't attacking unwary unarmed Rats this time. This would be interesting.\

"Alright." He said. "I'll take the bigger one on the right. I'll run past the one on the left, distracting him. You take him while he's focusing on me and then we take out the last one together. Cool?"

"Cool."

"Good."

And with that, he lept out of cover, sprinting past the blacksmith and the guard on the left of it. I sprinted off after him and Riu had gotten in right. The Rat on the left turned his attention to Riu, leaving me open to knife my own sword straight through his back. I could see the glint of the sunlight off its blade as it left the man's chest. I pulled it back out, putting a foot against the dying man's back to get it completely out.

The bloodied blade, now free of its host was ready for the other Rat who was already occupied by Riu, but he didn't need my help as he'd explained to me. The first Rat's swing was too short as Riu easily back stepped. The Rat swung right this time, missing completely. His swing was too strong and was unable to recover his stance and blade before Riu made a fatal cut along the Rat's stomach. The man fell to the floor, choking on his own blood.

It was over, and our blades were sheathed. That's when I noticed the 2 people we had killed weren't Rats. They were men. Just some hired guards by the look of it. "The fuck?" Riu asked, turning to me in confusion. "Trap told us Rats were guarding the place."

I wiped my blade off with one of the dead man's garment as I bent low to investigate the corpse. The man was rolled onto his stomach, but I could still make out a patch of green under the leather armor he wore. I rolled the body over, stripping the leather chest piece from him, revealing an Earth Kingdom badge.

"Damn it." I murmured to myself. "Luke was right."

"What do you mean?" Riu asked from behind me. At this point, the street was empty where it had been full a minute ago. Guess violence had that effect.

"Something Luke told me a while back. Didn't get the chance to tell you. Thought Luke might've been wrong."

"Wrong about what?"

"The Earth Kingdom is inside Citadel. Luke said that the Rats had an Earth Bender. That's how they got supplies and information in and out of Citadel. Didn't believe it until now. Just seemed to far-fetched, you know?"

"Does the Fire Nation know this?"

"No. Not from what they told me. Figured if they did know, they wouldn't have slum rats dealing with it."

"I see" he said, putting a hand to his chin, definitely thinking about what this meant for us.

"Take the patches off the bodies. Hide them, burn them with the rest of the blacksmith, I don't care."

I knew what he meant. He, as well as I, knew the value of what lay before us. I smiled. "So, we have a bargaining chip now. Something that the Fire Nation doesn't have.

"Or even know it needs. So Luke knows?"

"Yes."

"How'd he come about this knowledge?"

"Don't know. He told me he pieced it together on his own, but I don't buy it."

"Think he's playing 2 sides again?"

"No. I don't. He's with us now. I trust him."

"So, you still vouch for him. After all these months."

"He hasn't let me down yet."

He smiled. "No. He hasn't. let's hope he keeps it that way."

So, we finished our jobs. We left the bodies where they were but stripped them of all allegiance to the Earth Kingdom. We torched the memorabilia along with the rest of the shop. I wouldn't understand why the soldier would wear any form of identification on them. _Were they even soldiers? Spies, mercenaries, who knows?_

It was at that point that Goni, Luke, and Trap made their ways from the alleys leading to the Grain street. They didn't have any of the loot on them, so I assumed they did as they were told and left it somewhere safe until we could come back for it.

"You do your part?" I asked, approaching Luke and the others.

"Gangers out for the count and stash is ash."

"Nice poetry. I like it."

"Thanks. Been working on it. I can see the flames of the blacksmith behind you, so I assume you did yours?"

"Pretty much. Next thing on Trap's list was a warehouse that connected with the inner district, but we already knew about that. So next would be- "

I was distracted by the shout of "Rats!" coming from one of our Hornets. I couldn't tell who. And just like that, out from the alleys stormed waves of Rats, armed, and dangerous. We were outnumbered. We ran.

When we planned for this sort of scenario, there were 2 catches. One, the Rats knew where the Hive was and might catch on. Two, they might just let us retreat and call it a victory. The latter, we accounted for by making sure we did as much damage as possible before they got the jump on us. Would make them angry enough to pursue. The second, we trusted on adrenaline and anger to account for. There were around 20 Rats following us. We knew their numbers had been bolstered, but to what extent, we didn't know.

Luke, striking at the food storage warehouse, would alert them. Us hitting the blacksmith, trouble with the Earth kingdom thrown aside, would show where we were headed. So, they chased us into the alleys. We ran. Not as fast as we could, but fast enough to make it seem real. We all knew the plan and what our intentions for the day today were. Really, it was Riu that made it happen. He has proven to be more adaptable than I thought possible in the last few days. He's changed his priorities, he's learned that survival is more important than pride. A few months ago, Riu vowed never to leave the Hive undefended, but today, none of that mattered. I heard the whistle come from his lips as we stopped at a nice open area in the alleyways, preparing our weapons and readying ourselves for what came next. Today, however, Riu learned to make sacrifices. Learned to make smart moves. This was one of them. From the rooftops of the one-story slum homes came out our Hornets, armed with bows, spear, and swords. The ones equipped for melee hopped down, striking at the Rats still trying to piece together what was happening. "Fire" Riu yelled. The ones armed with bows shot arrow after arrow at the unsuspecting Rats clawing at the walls trying to get away.

"Fire!" Riu yelled again, calling for another barrage of arrows to come down.

"Fire!" he yelled again. More arrows.

"Fire!"


	29. Chapter 24: The War: Part 3: War's End

**Reek**

I could hear the sewer grate close with a loud clang further in the sewers. When Janick had heard that the Hornets were making a push today, he came to heads with Miro. Miro, on one hand, suggested that we pull any of our guys back to the sewers and wait. He defended himself in saying that once the Earth Kingdom mercenaries were down taking what they needed and securing any assets in the slums, that we would be allowed to leave. That was the deal after all. We hit the Fire Nation, and we hit them hard to the point they were huddling up nice and cozy in the military district. To Miro, all we had to do was bide our time until we got the message that we could leave Citadel.

Janick, on the other hand, didn't like that. He was the second in command of the Rats and insisted, well, more like demanded, that we not let the Hornets get away with what they were doing. When Janick heard about the food stash, that was it. He left without saying anything. I heard he was asking around for volunteers to go with him. I think one or two went with him. With the war that was going on above the sewers on the surface, nobody was particularly eager to step outside and get himself killed.

Hour or two later, we got a message that the blacksmith was hit. The smith himself wasn't there, no. He was with us. The Earth Kingdom was guarding it for him while he worked out a deal with the Earth Kingdom through us. Not everybody who hated the Fire nation was a rat, no. Hell, if that was the case, all the Slums would be bearing our name. No, we had supporters. All over the slums. They didn't openly admit to being one of us, but we had allies. Some of them obvious, some hidden. Yet now, the Hornets were hitting them. Obvious and hidden alike. Hence the concern of Miro and his insistence that we huddle up all safe and sound underground until the Earth Kingdom dug us a nice tunnel under the city and told us we could leave.

So that's where we were when I heard that sewer grate open. Naturally, we assumed it was Janick come back from whatever tantrum he had gone off on. When he came back, none of the Rat volunteers were with him, and he bore a look of defeat, bleeding from too many wounds to count. There was an arrow in his chest as well as one in his leg. He had broken the ends off, but the points still were lodged inside of him. He was bleeding heavily from his side and looked damn near dead. Naturally, I yelled at Miro to get here right away and naturally, he came within seconds, too see a dying Rat.

I had seen Miro when he had received news that some Rats had died. Miro had me reading his reports, said it would me learn how to read. It did, but it wasn't the kind of news I found myself eager to read, but this time, it wasn't hurt on Miro's face, no. It was fear. "Lean!" he yelled across the room. "Get the medicine right now!"

Janick had fallen to the ground a Miro was practically holding him, cradling his head with his left arm while he put pressure on the bleeding wound in his side. "What happened? What the fuck happened?"

Janick was moving his mouth. Trying to get the words to come out, but no words were forming. He kept trying, making attempt after attempt until he finally managed to catch his breath and said, "I made a mistake." He grunted, writhing in pain as Lean pulled out the first arrow, putting pressure on the bleeding hole. "I gathered up other people who hated the Hornets. We tried to fight them." He damn near screamed as Lean removed the second arrowhead, getting it stuck on some muscle on the way out. "The Hornets surprised us. Killed us all. I barely got out."

Miro, still holding Janick, was shaking his head, trying to process what he had just been told. Then came the pained look I recognized all too much. "Who. Who died?"

Janick grunted again, panting heavily before catching his breath and continuing. "Mu, Gared." He grunted again. "The rest. The rest were people I gathered from the slums. People who wanted to fight." He let out a small yelp as Lean wrapped and alcohol-soaked bandage around his first arrow wound, tightening it around the rear of his leg. "I gave them some weapons and led them where I knew the Hornets were. There were only supposed to be a few of them. 5 at most. The rest of them, they just jumped up from the rooftops and shot us down, all at once." He writhed in pain as Lean treated the second arrow wound. "Before I realized it, Gared was lying dead next to me, and arrow sticking out of his neck while his blood made a puddle right next to me. And I had a spearhead stuck in my side an two arrows coming out of me." This time, he actually screamed, and Miro moved his hands away from Janick's side to make room for Lean to stitch it together.

"I'm sorry, Miro. I just-. I just couldn't let them keep on getting away with it." His eyes closed, and his head fell back.

"Janick? Janick!" Miro yelled to his friend. "Lean, what's happening?"

"It's fine. He's fine. He passed out from the blood. He's fine. I stitched him up good enough. He needs time to get his blood back. He just needs rest."

For the first time since the beginning of the encounter, Miro looked away from Janick's face, looking straight at me. "How many died?"

 _Did he expect me to know?_ "No, I don't know, I could ch- "

"No. Screw that. Go outside and go to the temple, the market, and the grain street and tell our patrols to get back right now. I don't care if we're leaving any stashes behind, we'll just have to make do with what we have until the Earth Kingdom gets here."

I was already preparing to leave when I asked, "When do you think that'll be?"

Miro didn't look up from Janick this time, he just said "Soon."

I left. I knew what I was looking for and I had to be quick.

 **Luke**

That massacre was 3 weeks behind us now, but the image was still etched in my mind. The sight of all those people getting shot down, slaughtered. It wasn't something you forgot easily. Yes, I knew we had a plan. I knew it involved "a trap to catch some Rats", but this, this I didn't sign up for. I was **not** expecting to get shoved to the ground as arrows flew above my head, killing everybody in front of me, no. That **wasn't** what I signed up for.

I mean fuck, how could I have known. I was told that we would be hitting Rat hotspots to try to lure them into a trap. I thought we would just beat 'em up. Kick the shit out of them. _Fuck me. Who the hell am I kidding. "Kill all Rats". What the fuck else would have happened._ But no. I saw those bodies. 27 dead. And guess what? 2 of them were Rats. 2! The rest of them I had never seen in the Rats ranks before. Hell, I recognized some of them. They were just civilians. Not fighters. I don't know why they were fighting us, but they didn't have to die. We killed 25 innocent people who didn't have to die. I told it to Danev and Riu and they told me that it was their own fault for attacking us. I mean sure, they shouldn't have attacked us, but fuck, did we need to kill them? We were killers. I didn't kill anyone myself, but fuck, I may as well have, and now, we were marching down the street, parading in victory.

We weren't parading. As Danev called it, we were cleaning house. The Rats had gone back to their wherever they were hiding and weren't even poking a single head out. Now, we were following every lead we had, kicking in the door of every house or store with any ties to the Rats whatsoever. I didn't take long to get whatever we needed to know. We went from house to shop to abandoned housing project, back to another house. It was nightfall when our latest lead took us to an all too familiar building bearing an all too familiar sign: "Mishi's Scrap Shack."

"No." I said. "Fuck that. I'm not going in there."

"Yes." Danev said. "You are."

"I'll stand guard outside or some shit. I'm not going in there."

"You'll stand guard **inside** and make sure he doesn't try running. When the Rats became the top dogs in the slums, Mishi decided to forget his debt and throw all his cards in with these fucking rodents. We can't have that kind of disloyalty going around our turf. Mishi's about to learn that he made one hell of a mistake."

"Our slums? What? Riu forget about the military district already?"

"What Riu has in mind doesn't concern you. Now follow me."

And so, I did as I was commanded. Danev walked in first, followed by Goni and Sar'di. Then me. By the time I walked in, Mishi, somehow looking even older and more fragile than I had last left them, was standing still, petrified behind his counter, sweat already building up on his face. When his eyes locked onto mine, just as they had those months ago when I had first betrayed him, I felt that same hurt. But this time, I knew he messed up. I knew why we were here and that this wasn't just a shakedown. This was business. I looked away. I knew what was happening next and I didn't want me to be the last thing he saw before it did. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sar'di grab the man by the shoulder, pulling him out over the counter onto the ground, too weak and old to resist.

"Goni." Danev called. "Guard the entrance. Luke, find his stash."

I already knew where it was. I couldn't save him this time. I had helped him all I could last time. I left him money. Hell, it was enough to pay off a guard, buy a carriage ride, and get as far as Ba-Sing-Se and still have money to rent an apartment. Not a good one, but still, I gave him a chance. He didn't take that chance. I couldn't help him anymore.

I tried to ignore it, but still couldn't block out the chaos happening behind me. I peeked over my shoulder and saw Mishi on the ground, clutching his shoulder as Sar'di stood over him, placing a kick here and there as well as the occasional punch. "What are you hiding? What did the Rats give you?"

"Nothing. I don't know what you're talking about."

"What were you hiding for them!"

I went to the storage room door. Of course, Mishi had learned. It was locked. The door was just plywood though, ready to be knocked down. All it took was 3 good kicks at the handle and the door was down in two pieces, a third still hanging on to the hinges by a thread.

And that was the storage room. It wasn't that same room of odds and ends it had been last time. This time, it was swords, bows, arrows, spears, shields. An arsenal. Danev saw it too, as did Sar'di and Goni.

"You call that nothing, you old fuck?!" Sar'di yelled as he kicked the man in the head, knocking his head completely to the side, leaving a nice stain of blood on the wooden floor.

It wasn't over. I walked over to that same lighter floorboard and lifted it up. Some habits people never changed. This was one of them. 8 gold, 14 silver, and 46 copper pieces all lying in a nice iron strongbox. _I helped him last time. I can't help you this time, old man._ I picked up the open box and brought it over to the store lobby, setting it down on the counter for them to see.

Sar'di smiled, looking back down on the man. "Man, do I wish I had nothing too." He kicked Mishi over the head again, knocking him down as he was trying to rise to a kneel. Mishi knelt down on top of him, pounding his fist on the man's face.

I thought he was going to stop after doing it once or twice, but when he didn't, I looked to Danev. He merely shook his head at me and went back to gathering the supplies in the storage room. Sar'di changed his routine and when he saw the poor man was about to pass out, he went back to kicking him in the side, knocking the air out of him once, then twice, then-.

"Sar'di, that's enough!" I didn't even know I had yelled until the words had already come out. They were all looking at me. Danev, Goni, Sar'di, even Mishi with his one working eye.

"Got something to say, you little shit?"

"He-He's had enough. We got what we want. This doesn't have to go any longer. Let's just grab what he's got and get the fuck out."

"Oh." He said. "Oh. Oh, ho ho oh no. No! We are **not** just letting him get away with fucking us over time and time again. Fuck that!"

"What more can you do? Look at him, he's go nothing left. We did it. We taught him his lesson. There's nothing left here."

He laughed, looking at Mishi, back to me, Mishi again, then back to me one more time. "What more can I do? How's this?"

And with that, in one single motion, he unsheathed his iron sword, plunging it into Mishi's heart, pulling it back out to let the blood flow, painting the wooden floor red.

I wasn't thinking. Sar'di was down lower than me, sword still and hand, and that look on his face. That look of hatred and sadistic joy as he stood over my old friend's body. I couldn't handle it. I lurched forward, swinging my first in an arc, taking him in the side of the head. He recoiled back, placing a hand on the bloodied ground to steady himself. Then with that same hand, soaked in Mishi's blood, he swung at me, hitting me square in the jaw, knocking me straight to the ground. I felt a wet feeling on the left side of my head and couldn't tell if it was my blood or Mishi's.

When my eyes opened, I just saw them, the Hornets, standing over me, Mishi's supplies in hands, looking down at me as I lay there on the ground. Sar'di spit on my face and left. Goni was next to leave. Then it was just Danev, standing over me. _Danev,_ I tried to say, but the words wouldn't form with only a weak croak coming out. He shook his head, then turned his back on me, leaving. He shut the door behind him, leaving me in the shop of a dead man.

I let my head fall back to the ground. And the last thing I saw before my vision went black was Mishi's dead eyes looking straight at me.


	30. Chapter 25: The Slums of Citadel

**Luke**

I woke up facing a dead man, his dead eyes accusing me from beyond the grave. _Stop._ I wanted to yell at him. _Stop staring at me._ But the words refused to form, as though stuck in my throat. I wanted to say something more. I don't know if it was pleading for forgiveness or asking what I could do next. He'd give me advice in the past. When I had problems of my own. He always put the needs of others in front of his own, whether he was helping a young naïve slum kid find his way in the world or helping a group of homeless children fight for survival. The latter would get him killed. But that's what happens to nice people, isn't it? They get killed. They waste their life helping others and end up losing it in the end. Losing it all. Not just his life, but everything.

My head still lay there, on the ground as I stared at his lifeless eyes, a mix of blood and salt from tears combining on my face. I pulled an arm from under me and reached over to him, placing a hand on his brow. It was cold and stony. His body had lost all warmth and life with it. I let my hands fall, closing his eyes so he could finally be at peace. And finally stop accusing me. I rolled onto my back, letting my hair soak in the pile of blood that was now beginning to dry on the ground as I started up at the stone ceiling. It was falling apart. The wall, the ceiling, everything. I could see the stars through the cracks in the roof. Every now and then, as I scanned the ceiling, I would find a ray of moonlight shining through. When I looked longer, I could even make out individual stars. I had never been told about the constellations of the night sky, no. We taught ourselves that. There was the broken blade whose jagged point faced north. There was the Fire Dragon whose snout pointed Southwest.

I don't know how long I had life there, but when I could hear the sounds of people gathering outside, suddenly curious of the commotion coming from inside now that the Hornets were gone. I let myself stand up, leaning against the counter to support myself. I looked around the shop to see it had been completely ransacked. Not just the weapons and money. Everything. All gone. Because of me. I rubbed my eyes clear of any sign that I had been crying the least bit before leaving. It wasn't so much for Mishi that I cried. I cried because I felt betrayed. The Hornets, they just left me. When I tried to defend Mishi, they just pushed me down and abandoned me. Like I wasn't one of them.

No. No. I knew better than that. I wasn't an idiot either. The Hornets were still my family. How much longer, I couldn't say. I knew for a certainty that it wouldn't be a permanent relationship anymore. But just as the Hornets were still my family, temporary at most, the Hive was still my home. _But not tonight._ I couldn't go back there tonight. Not after the shit we had just gone through. Tonight, hell, maybe even tomorrow, I was on my own. Then, I'd come back, and they're reactions would tell me whether or not I truly was still one of them. _It's only until we get inside the walls._ They were my family, sure, but how much longer? Once I get inside those walls, that's all gone, for better or worse. No more Hornets anymore, just Fire Nation recruits. I don't know if I was looking forward to that or dreading it. It was hard to make up an actual decision on it. On whether I should look forward to the end of all this or not.

I left the ruin of a general store, shambling past the other slum residents who were now gathering for second picking. _They would be disappointed._ I didn't even know where I was walking. Whether I was looking for a midnight meal or an alley to sleep in. I didn't really let my brain bother. I just moved one foot in front of the other and leaned forward. For all I know, I could've circled the entirety of Citadel more than once. I would see a certain house or shop that would look relatively similar every now and then, or hell, who knows? I could've just as likely circled Citadel as I could have turned around and back around every 10 minutes or so.

Then, I felt my legs give up on me. I don't know if I tripped or just forgot how to walk, but I fell. I didn't bother getting up. I crawled to the wall of a nearby house and tucked myself in cozily in the alleyway between it and a separate shop. Nobody was around. _Good._ My legs had given up on me and I had given up on myself. _Maybe I wouldn't have to worry about making it inside the walls after all. Maybe I can just fall asleep right here right now, and wake up, putting this nightmare behind me._ I was thinking of what the real world must have been like, separate from the nightmare of war and conflict that I lived in when I heard a familiar voice say my name as though questioning if what was in front of him was real or not.

I didn't bother turning towards him. I knew who it was and realized that if I ended up dying like this, I might actually be at peace as I would die knowing somebody in these slums finally got what they deserved.

Except I didn't. Instead, I woke up, who knows how many hours later, in a stony damp room, solely lit by the stray candle and torch. First, I thought I could've been back in one of the stone cells of the Hive, but when I rolled over, I realized that the room went on and on in a single direction, its end blocked by fog. I then thought I may have been in a dream, but when I rolled over onto my other side, seeing a half dozen sleeping kids, Reek standing among them talking to two others, I knew I wasn't dreaming.

It was then that the blur of white noise began to differentiate among itself, creating distinct voices and sounds.

"-a fucking Hornet down in our hideout? Are you fucking nuts?" asked an older, deeper voice, obviously angry.

"This was dangerous, Reek, you know that. Why did you bring him here? I mean, why were you even up on the surface?" asked a higher voice.

"Because the Earth Kingdom hasn't come for us yet and we're running out of food and water. I had to take a look up there, see if we might be safe to grab something to eat." It was Reek that time, but the other two voices I had never heard before. The blur of my vision began to allow colors to pass through, but the voices still held no familiarity. Not even Reek's. The only thing that had him stand out from the rest was his voice and height when put next to the other two.

"But you brought a fucking Rat down hear. After all the shit they've been doing to us." Stated the deeper-voice.

"I didn't have a choice. He's my friend and he was dying, blood all over his face and shit."

"He's not even that hurt. Worst thing I can see is on him is a bruised-up face." Came the higher voice this time.

"Who do you think gave him those bruises? Us? Nobody would fuck with a Hornet aside from a Hornet. Clearly, he's not in their good graces anymore. I couldn't leave him out there to die."

"Domestics problems or no, he's still a Hornet and you brought him down here. Maybe you **should** have left him to die up there. It'd be what he deserved."

"Miro, come on. Please."

"I'm sorry, but he can't stay here. We can't risk it, not while he had an opportunity to kill us all in our sleep." So that was Miro. Funny voice, higher than the rest, different tone than the rest.

"I can keep watch. Just please, we can't let him leave. They'll kill him."

"Reek's right. We can't let him leave."

"Thank you, Janick." Janick. If this was Janick, then maybe I would get my wish after all, right here, right now.

"Not before I gut him like a pig for the shit he's done. I heard the sound of metal leave its scabbard and waited for the sweet embrace of death. "No. No. That's not what I meant. Miro, come on."

"Calm down, Janick. We're not killing him. Reek, why should we listen to you? Especially regarding this. I respect what you have to say, but you're walking a thin line right now, so I have to ask you if you're putting your history with Luke in front of the risk you're putting us all in."

"I'm not and he's not putting us at risk. I know Luke, and I know that he's not a killer. Just please, let's talk to him. Maybe we can convince him to join us even."

"Like hell" grunted Janick.

"Janick" started Miro. "This isn't your call. For now, we'll let him rest and we'll talk about this privately. Reek, keep an eye on your friend. We'll talk to him when he wakes up."

So maybe I wouldn't be dying tonight. Tomorrow, though, there was a good chance of that. A "talk?" What the fuck was this? A job interview? After all the shit we've put them through? Janick's right. Why the fuck should they trust me? And what would I even say? What are they expecting? Some grand secret to destroying the Hornets? Because if that was the case, they weren't getting anything out of me. Hell, I disagreed with what we were doing, but I'm not going to kill them all. They're still the same people that took me in and kept me alive over the last 7 months. They deserve my loyalty. I went back on tonight because I knew that they weren't thinking. I knew that they were letting anger get ahead of reason and I didn't want them to suffer for it.

I don't know what Reek was thinking, bringing me here. I know he found me on the streets, shambling through the slums, but I had thought his naivety had come to an end, yet he brought me here, thinking I was going to turn coat and become one of them. I thought I had made it clear that it wasn't an option anymore. And now here I was, sleeping in the hideout of the Rats before they decide whether to turn me against my family or kill me.

Frankly, I didn't know which I preferred. A punishment I deserved, or a chance to do some right. I had what was left of the night to make a decision. I would use that time.

I didn't wake on my own free will. Rather, I woke to the kick of a boot against my stomach alongside the harsh "up" spoken by Janick. I was getting up when another kick came, knocking me right back down to the ground. "I said up, dipshit."

"Leave him alone, Janick." Came that same higher voice from the night before. It took me a good minute to remember it was Miro who spoke it.

This time, I sat up, unmolested by Janick's boot and came into full view of Miro, Reek, and Janick, standing side by side while individual Rats scurried around the sewers, looking for some means to pass the time. And it was then that I understood what I was looking at. Miro. The leader of the Rats, fierce, but caring to his people. Sympathetic, kind, mature. A complete contrast to all the other shit you'd find in the slums of Citadel was. I knew what it was now. What she was. If anyone else knew, I couldn't say. The difference was unnoticeable. She didn't have the body of a woman nor carry herself as a woman might, but I noticed. Right away at that. I don't think Reek knew. I knew nobody in the Hornets knew as it was always the word "he" being thrown around in place of the female counterpart.

I rose to my feet, assured by a new confidence that I could have the upper hand in whatever conservation followed. I was expecting to be led to a room, maybe an office of sorts, but who was I kidding? They just stood there, arms crossed. "So?" Miro asked.

Don't give away that you overheard them last night. Keep your cards only to yourself. "So, what?"

"So, convince us to keep you alive instead of killing you here or throwing you back onto the streets the let the Hornets do it for us."

I scoffed. I knew they believed the Hornets would kill me, but still, this was a card I possessed that I was willing to show them. Maybe they would call me naïve, but even so, that would just be all the better for me. "They won't kill me."

"You're fucked up face would say otherwise." I liked her, I realized. Miro. Had a way of talking I found enjoyable to listen to.

"Just a scratch. Nothing we're not used to."

"Not from one of our own. Who'd you piss off? Danev? Riu? Sar'di?

"Former and latter. Let's just say we came to a disagreement."

"About what?"

"Mishi."

"Mishi?" The surprise on their faces were visible now. I wasn't going to tell him he was dead. I would tell the truth, half of it at least. The last thing we needed right now was more death to reignite the killing. "What did you do to him?" asked Janick.

"We learned he was working with you guys and we went over and took the shit he was hoarding for you."

"And that's it? You expect us to believe that?"

"Of course not. He got beat up. Tried to defend himself and got knocked on his ass for it. Send one of your guys up and see for yourselves."

They didn't call the bluff, but Janick even began to turn around to leave before Miro put a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head for him not to leave. _Janick knows who she is._ How far it went, I couldn't say. They're both around that age.

Miro regained control of the conversation. I noticed that Reek hadn't spoken once. Whether he would have any role in the conversation, I would have to wait to find out. "All you've told me about is why you and the Hornets are at odds with each other. You're down here, in our possession, and we need some good reasons to keep you alive."

"First off, I still **am** a Hornet. And second, I didn't ask to be thrown down here and interrogated to prove my worth."

"But our people did? We know you tortured them for information. How else would you know where all our stashes and safehouses were? We're not idiots."

"You know what? Fuck this. I'm sorry for all the shit that's been happening between the Hornets and you Rats. I didn't want a gang war. I didn't join the Hornets because I wanted to kill Rats or some shit. I joined because I didn't have a choice. I joined because I needed food. I needed shelter. I needed water. I needed help, okay? The Hornets got there first and so I went and joined them. But I didn't want this much blood between anyone in Citadel. I'm sorry for that too, but there's a way there can be no more bloodshed between us."

"And how's that?"

"I'm still working out the details, but I have an idea. I don't care if you kill me or not, but at least give me another hour to think this through and prove to myself that I'm not a terrible person."

I realized then that they hadn't expected the conversation to go this way, judging by Janick's hand that was constantly resting on the hilt of his blade, still sheathed and Miro's surprise displayed on her face, but I do think it worked. Miro looked to Janick. Janick looked to Miro. Miro looked to Reek, and Reek looked to Miro. "You think about what you want to say, Hornet." Stated Miro. "In an hour, you're going to have case to present."

"Fair enough." I had a plan. I had an entire night to work on one. I think I had only slept maybe twenty minutes which was still pretty good by my standards. It involved no more death and everybody getting what they wanted alive. That was the ideal goal, right? At least I hoped so. Everything I had was riding on that common knowledge. I guess I would find out.

And an hour later, I decided that my plan wasn't getting any better and that it was time to find out. I approached Miro and she agreed to a one on one meeting, much to the discontent of Janick who had a genuine concern for her. _There was something there._

Miro led me to the room that I had envisioned in my mind would be the one where they all questioned me. Now, it was a room to brainstorm my plan for mutual survival. It wasn't much of a room to be honest. It was a subsection of the sewers that was blocked off on one side by cement. I remember when the Fire Nation filled them with cement. It was a sloppy job. They missed almost half the drainpipe entrances in the slums, but I heard that the entire area under the military district was completely cut off. I heard they found an underground reservoir to dump the waste into. Guess contaminating groundwater was worth the protection from us. Or was it Earthbenders they were worried about. Most likely the latter. At least, that's what I was hoping for. My entire plan was based around it.

"Go ahead then." She said. "Present to me your master plan."

"I don't want there to be anymore death. I'm done with the killing, done with the violence, done with all that shit. The Rats want to get out, the Hornets want to get further in. The military district. Both our plans rely on one of our sides getting killed.

"Maybe yours do. Us? We did our job. We're just waiting for the ride home."

"Your job isn't done. If it is, why haven't your Earth Kingdom friends come and picked you up yet. And of course, I knew it was the Earth Kingdom you were working with. So, do some of the Hornets, I think. Luckily, the Fire Nation doesn't, or they'd have burned this place to a crisp by now. They'd torch the entirety of the slums if it meant rooting out the Earth kingdom, but luckily, they need their human shield.

"If our job means we kill you all, then why shouldn't we just do that and say, 'screw it' to your plan?"

"Because I know that you don't want any more death."

"You don't know anything about me."

"I know you squat when you need to piss. I don't care about that, though. If anything, it's an assurance."

"Of what?"

"Of the fact that you care about your people, that you will protect them, and that you don't desire any more death and destruction. But as I was saying, both our employers want the other gang dead. This is just a proxy war. Neither side really cares about us, but all the same, we need them. We're just pawns, but we still want to survive. There's a way for us to both survive."

"And how's that?"

"I'm going to say some shit that sound stupid, but I ask that you save all your questions until the end. Just please listen to me. What I suggest is this: Today, I'm going to go into the military district. Turn myself in as a Rat and talk to the Captain. What I'm going to do is tell him about the sewers and where you're hiding." I could see the fear, surprise, and hate on her face, constantly interchanging. I had to make this quick before she had Janick kill me right here and now. "When he asks me why us Hornets can't deal with the Rats ourselves, I'll tell him that you have the support of the Earth Kingdom and even have Earth Benders. But before I tell him all of this, it will be on the condition that the Hornets are allowed to enter the military district."

I knew there would be an interruption and had even guessed it would be around this point. "And the Rats? What about my damn people?"

"Before I go to the commander, I should tell you that we found a way out of the city. I'll show it to you once we're done here. There's hardly any guards on the outer wall and you should be able to make it into the forest before one of the 2 outer guards even comes close to making a full circle around the wall. From there, you can go anywhere. Ba-Sing-Se if you want, but there's the siege of course, but point is, you'd be out, and we'd be in. The Hornets get inside the military district. The Fire Nation checks your sewers and sees your gone, figures you were alerted by their marching or some shit, I don't care, but please **do** leave behind some evidence of your existence there. I don't want us to be kicked out of the military district the second we get settled in."

"How do you expect to get the Hornets to go along with this?"

"I expect Danev to agree to this. I don't have to tell him that you don't have any Earth Benders at this very moment. I tell him that you **do** have Earthbenders and he'll say fuck it to the fighting, and if Riu's learned anything, he'll agree. The rest will follow them if they agree on it. SO, plan is, I show you the exit out of Citadel, leave, tell the Hornet command my plan, get them to agree then tell the Fire Nation. I'll only tell the Fire Nation you're a threat. In the morning, the Hornets and I will go for the gate and tell them the rest there. Meanwhile, you tell your people, get them packed up and ready to leave. You leave as soon as possible and leave behind any evidence of your presence. Any boxes with Earth Kingdom logos, patches, that kind of shit. By the time the Fire Nation comes to the sewers, you're in the forest, on your way to wherever the hell you want to go, and the Hornets are inside the military district. We're all happy."

"But the Earth Kingdom. They need us to get inside Citadel and take out the Fire Nation."

"Fuck the Earth Kingdom. Fuck the Fire Nation. This is about us, the little guys. Not them. You don't have to be their pawns. You can do whatever the hell you want."

Miro put her hands to her forehead, bending over, going over what could go wrong. There was a lot. The entire plan was based around ifs, but I like to think I covered them to some extent. "Fuck it. Let's do it. We save both our people and don't have to worry about no more bloodshed. That's the deal, is it not?"

"That's the deal. I know it's not the best plan, but it's the only thing I could think of that would get us all out of this alive."

"It's not a bad plan, it's just. I don't know. I guess I'm nervous."

"That's reasonable. Let's just do our parts. I'll show you the way out now if you don't mind."

"No. Not at all. Let's see this exit you're talking about."

It was right where I had met Goni that night when he came stumbling in. We found the stash of Fire Nation supplies he had hidden in the wall and we pushed that cart down to the sea, letting it sink. It didn't matter for shit in the end though. The Fire Nation still figured us out and here we were. I showed Miro how to unscrew the steel plates and get into the interior. I showed her the opening where foliage was already seeping inside the wall, roots breaking through the steel flooring. She liked it. Was out of view of the inner wall and we even counted the time between patrols on the outer wall. Just 2 men as I had told her. Took them a good 30 minutes to go full circle, even with 2 going in different directions.

I took note of where the sewer entrance was this time when we went back in. The Fire Nation would want to know how to get there. Back in the sewers, it was time for the next part. I had to tell the Hornets. Miro and I agreed that, depending on the Hornets' and Fire nation's decision, I would leave a sign of whether there was an agreement or not. Assuming it was a yes from them both, the Hornets would leave tomorrow morning. We both knew the Fire Nation would need time to take precautions before attacking. If anything, they would attack tomorrow evening. I grabbed what belongings I had brought to the sewers and was getting ready to leave for the Hive when Reek walked up to me, engaging me in one last conversation before this was all over. And probably our last conversation ever. If things went according to plan, I would never see him again.

"So. This is it, huh?" he asked.

"I guess it is."

"What made you do it? Find a way to help your people and mine?"

"I was tired of the fighting. I saw what happened in that alleyway, that slaughter. I know it was my people who did it, but it wouldn't have happened if there was no war between our guys. Now, at least, we can actually end this fighting, assuming it all works out, I mean. Then, at least, we can fight someone else's wars."

"You really think joining the Fire Nation is going to help you?"

"More than staying out here with the Hornets. That's the idea, isn't it? It's about survival in the end, but there's always that effort to make things better, little by little."

"And this is part of it? Joining an insane regime of pyrotechnic lunatics."

"Yep!" I said, with an obvious hint or sarcasm. "These seem like my kind of guys."

He chuckled, then reached forward and hugged me. I hugged him back. He was the closest friend I had ever had in Citadel. And this was where it ended. He would go on to Ba-Sing-Se most likely and join the Earth Kingdom. I would join the Fire Nation. In a sense, I was hoping this was the last time we ever met, because if we ever did meet again, it would more than likely be on separate ends of a battlefield. "Oh, and by the way" I said as I started towards the exit ladder. "Did you know Miro was a chick?"

"What? Are you kidding me?"

"Nope. Just wanted to see if you were really that oblivious. I guess you are." I laughed, my laughter echoing off the walls of the sewer. I could hear him laugh too, but it was softer and more strained, almost embarrassed, as though he were thinking over all the events of the last few years, all the signs finally making sense. I saw him one last time, laughing, before he turned around, going deeper into the sewers as I headed towards the latter that led to the surface, still chuckling. Miro was waiting for me there.

"Did you tell Janick yet?"

"I did."

"And?"

"He said that there's no way the Hornets will agree to it. That you're all bloodthirsty savages. Is he wrong?"

"Not entirely. But I like to think that their desire to survive outweighs simple bloodthirst. Remember, you have Earth benders in here. That's why we don't attack and end this right away. Make sure you sell the act however you can."

She chuckled. "I will and…Thanks. When Reek said he brought you, a Hornet down here, I was freaked out. I thought you would either kill us in our sleep or leave in the night and come back in the morning with an army."

"Well. An army **will** be coming. Just make sure you're out by then."

"And remember to signal whether the Hornets agreed or not. I need to know if this plan is a go or not. I will." I turned to leave, but realized I had one last thing to say. "And take care of Reek. He's a nice person. Naïve, but good hearted. Please watch out for him."

"He's the same age as you, you know. I don't think that I'll need to worry about him if you were both raised the same way."

I smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment. Well, if things go according to plan, I'll never be seeing any of you again. So, just to start things on a high note, Goodbye. And good luck."

"To you too, Luke. For the sake of us all, I hope the Hornets listen to you."

"As do I, Miro. As do I."

And with that, I left. I had some talking to do.

 **Danev**

The Hive was a quiet place today. The Hornets including myself were busy trying to find the at hideout and end this bullshit war for good. One of the scouts said they saw Luke, but I ignored those reports. He'd come back and that nonsense from last night would be behind us. I couldn't promise that Sar'di would behave himself. He was still pissed at Luke for charging him.

I swear to the spirits, the second Luke gets back, I would beat some sense into them both. The Hornets needed to stick together, and I wouldn't have Hornets killing random people who didn't do shit nor have Hornets attacking one another. Riu refused to intervene. Said that it wouldn't matter soon anyway. I had been noticing more with Riu lately, as though he was growing more and more depressed. I think he was going to miss the Hornets. The second we killed the Rats, we would be enlisted into the Fire Nation army and all this would be just a memory. Fonder for some than others. Riu, he would miss the authority, the respect, but I doubted he would miss the responsibility, the hardships of keeping a family together and alive. I know I wouldn't.

We were reading scout reports from last night when one of the guards came rushing to us in the mess hall from the gate saying that Luke was back. Sar'di was the first to rise, but I quickly made sure he sat his ass back down. We were going to handle this my way. Not his. Riu stayed in the mess hall as he continued to read the reports. Didn't seem the least bit interested in welcoming back our lost friend.

And yea, there Luke was, already inside the courtyard, looking around as though he were seeing it for the first time, or the last.

"Luke." I greeted him.

"Danev." He responded.

'It's already noon. Where were you this whole time?"

"That's what we need to talk about. You, me, and Riu."

"Luke. What are you talking about?"

"Not here. Just get me Riu, please and we can talk about this. It's about the Rats."

I don't know if this was about the Rats, but he knew what would get Riu's attention, the last bit of his career as a gang leader.

We cleared out the cafeteria, even sending Ladle away so it was just us in the cramped mess hall.

"So, what's this about?", Riu asked, sitting down while eating a small morsel of dried meat.

"It's about the Rats." He started. "And about where I was last night." He finished, turning to me.

"Anyway." He began his recounting of the events. "The Rats found me on the street last night, brought me into their hideout. I spent the night there and that morning, we talked. We talked about how we can end the fighting between us and end this all."

"You know the fighting has to go on if we want to get inside the walls." I said, stating the obvious to him.

"No, it doesn't. When I was there, it became obvious that they have help from the Earth Kingdom. Weapons, food, medicine, hell, even Earth Benders."

"Earth Benders? You're kidding."

"I'm not. How do you think they bring supplies into the slums directly to the Rats? They tunnel underground. I saw they're defenses. They're waiting for us, but we talked, and we found a compromise."

"Being?"

" **Being** that we tell the Fire Nation. We tell them that the Rats have Earth Kingdom support as well as Earth Benders and that we'd all get killed if we attacked, because it's true. If the Fire Nation knows that this isn't some war between gangs on the street to get rid of some trouble maker, but is an actual Earth kingdom infiltration, they'll want to deal with it themselves."

"What? So, we let them do the work for us. Then why do they need to let us in the military district?"

"Because that's the deal. I tell them about the Earth Kingdom and Earthbenders only **if** they let us within the walls. They already know we're on their side, so I think Zar'un will listen to me."

"And you think he'll hold up his end of the bargain?"

"You did. When you agreed to kill the Rats for them. If I alert them to an actual threat that goes beyond troublesome hooligans, they'll let us in. They have to."

"Alright. So, we tell them where the Rats are. How does this help them?"

"Because they're ready to leave. The price was that I showed them the exit we made to leave Citadel."

"You already told them? So, who the hell is to say they haven't already left?"

"Because I talked to Miro, and she agreed that she would wait.

"She?"

"Because if she didn't, she would be bringing her Rats onto the Hornet controlled streets of the Citadel slums where there would be one last and final battle between Rats and Hornets where everyone would end up getting killed. She's tired of the bloodshed. She just wants out."

"Okay, so, let me get this straight. You tell the Fire Nation where they are in exchange for our safe entrance into the Military district where, I'm guessing we still join the army?"

"Yes."

"Then Miro's people leave, when exactly?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"You don't think the Fire Nation will attack before then?"

"Attack a confined sewer full of Earthbenders? No. They'll take their time."

"Then tomorrow morning, while the Rats leave this city, we enter the military district and that's that. What happens when the Fire Nation sees nobody's there and think we fucked them?"

"Miro agreed to leave behind Earth kingdom shit, collapse some tunnels and stuff to make it look like they were just told and left in a hurry.

I then realized that Riu hadn't spoken a work. It was as though this conversation didn't involve him and he was some sort of spectator.

"Riu?" I asked. "What do you think?"

He sighed. "Fuck it. I didn't like it when we agreed to kill the Rats for the Fire Nation. I'm no fan of the Rats, but I won't fight them because some asshole in fancy armor told us to. At least now, we live this shithole of a city on our own terms."

"So that's a yes?"

"What alternative is there?"

"The alternative" Luke interrupted, "is that we attack the Rats and all die, crushed by some Earthbender rocks."

"There you go" said Riu. I'll tell the others to start packing. We leave tomorrow at dawn. Tell your Fire Nation friends and make sure that they're there to meet us at the gate tomorrow." Riu left.

Luke was already leaving in the other direction when I stopped him. "I'm coming to. You'll need the help talking to Zar'un."

"I'll be fine. Just help Riu pack shit up."

"Hey. You alright?"

He stopped right beyond the entrance of the Hive and turned around. "No. I'm not fucking alright." He exclaimed, his voice raising. "You killed my friend last night and here I am trying to save all your sorry asses! So just pack this shit up and let me do this on my own! I don't want the company!"

And with that, he left, the entirety of the Hornets in the courtyard looking at me and the leaving Luke. For some reason, I felt my face redden. I had just been yelled at by an 11-year-old kid and somewhat had my feelings hurt. It wasn't the best of feelings.

I turned around to the onlooking Hornets. "Fuck you looking at? We're leaving this shithole tomorrow, let's move!" And with that, they scurried back to their tasks. When the courtyard was now only working kids instead of staring kids, I took one last look at what had been my home for the entirety of my life. Not just the Hive, the slums. This was where I was raised. I didn't know what would happen tomorrow, but what I did know, what that one way or another, everything was going to change.

 **Luke**

It was around 2 in the afternoon when I made it to the military district. I had to wait outside the gate for a good 45 minutes before not even Zar'un, but a higher-ranking guard came outside to meet the guard who had stopped me at the gate. I told him who I was, who I worked for, and why I was here. It then took another 30 minutes for him to send a messenger to Zar'un who finally came back telling me I could go in. This was one aspect of my new life that I could tell I wasn't going to end up liking.

The captain of the guard, bearing different armor than the other, led me across the courtyard of the Military district. Past where they would conduct the execution and recruitment drives into the Citadel Tower that stood at the center of the city. We walked inside, and I was led up flight after flight of stairs. Past floors where I could see barracks, cafeterias, doctor's bays, hell, I even saw what looked like a library. Finally, at the top story, I was led into a hall to a large wooden door that the guard knocked on. A few seconds later the door opened, I was pushed inside, and I heard the door slam close behind me.

The only time I had ever seen this man before was during the executions and recruitments, but then of course, there was when he attacked the Hive, and killed Sunji, taking Heddik and Lannit for execution. All those times, somebody had been killed or sent to be killed whether it was recruitment or executions, somebody always ended dying one way or another, eventually. Not this time, though. This time, it would be an encounter than ended with people surviving.

"Sit" he said as he motioned to the chair in front of me, on the other side of his desk. "The messenger said you had a proposition for me. I don't like to waste time. What's this about?"

I gulped. It was a miracle I made it past the guards at the gate and even a bigger one that I got to this office. And now, sitting here, I felt more nervous than ever. The plan was almost complete, but I felt like I was sinking deeper and deeper into the leather chair. My entire plan on what to say suddenly eluded me, leaving me no choice but to improvise.

"It's, umm, it's about the Rats, yeah."

He smiled, somewhat amused by my anxiety. "Yes, what about them?"

"We, uh, we can't fight them anymore."

"And why's that?"

I completely forgot the reason why. I opened my mouth, getting damn close to blurting the whole plan until I quickly shut it.

"If you have something to say" he said. "I recommend that you don't keep me waiting."

That's all it took. I remembered what was at stake. I remembered just how many people's lives would end if I fucked this up. I sat up, sat straight, and cleared my throat. "I can tell you why, but the thing is, we've been fighting them already. We killed a good amount of them, but we've reached a hitch. A hitch that's not just important to us, but important to you."

"Which is?"

"If I tell you, I need to know that you will still take the Hornets within these walls."

"The way I see it, you wouldn't be living up to your end of the bargain. Why should I let you in?"

"Because as I said, the threat presented by the Rats is not just one that affects us Hornets, but one that affects your garrison as well."

"Damn it, kid!" he yelled standing up. "Stop wasting my time and tell me!"

I stood up to. "The Rats have Earth Kingdom aid and Earthbenders."

This wasn't the only time today that I saw surprise on people's faces. He sat back down, seemingly terrified.

"How. How do you know this?"

"They took me prisoner, but I escaped. I saw the Earth kingdom supplies and I saw the Earthbenders who brought them, opening holes in the ground to bring it to them."

"Shit. Shit shit shit Shit!" Where are they?"

"That's the second part of the information. We'll tell you tomorrow morning at sunrise as you let us walk into the military district, unharmed. The second we're inside, we'll tell you everything we know about them and you can ensure this city's safety in the Fire Nation way."

He had his hand to his mouth, biting down on the muscle until letting go and asking, "You're positive they were Earthbenders?"

"Positive. Do we have a deal?"

"Fucking hell. We have a deal." He extended his hand to me and I shook. I wasn't a civilized kid, I didn't grow up in some fancy military district, but I knew manners and how to get what I wanted. It worked this time and I had the feeling that it would continue to serve me well in the midst of a system where bureaucracy reigned. "Oh. By the way." I said, turning around one last time before I left. "I wouldn't worry too much tonight about the Earthbenders. They've been here for the last 4 months and you barely even noticed."

And that was that. I left the military district weaved my way through the alleyways of the slums before making it to the sewer entrance constantly hidden by piles of trash. I looked around me one last time to make sure I wasn't being watched. I wasn't. I took out the green piece of fabric I had in my pocket, handed to me by Miro, slightly opened the sewer hatch, and dropped it down. They would hear the sewer grate close and come to check. When Miro saw the green piece of paper, she'd know the plan was on.

As I left, I checked my pockets one last time to make sure I dropped the right paper. I only took out a red paper and sighed in relief, knowing that I hadn't fucked up the easiest step.

 **Reek**

 _He fucking did it._ I don't even want to ask how he managed to convince not just the rest of the Hornets, but the damn Fire Nation at that. _Fucking miraculous._ Of course, Janick didn't buy it, even when Miro held the fabric right up to his face. Everything he, I mean she did now, I saw in a whole new light. I started to notice her physique more now than before. Her facial features almost began to distinguish themselves as that of a woman's. It was creepy. I was sitting down, packing up my belongings for tomorrow.

"I'm not buying that bullshit" Janick said. "Are you?"

"Yes. Why shouldn't I?" Miro replied.

"Because the Hornets would never agree to something like that. They're fucking killers?"

"Everyone's a killer in this street, but look at the fucking paper, Janick. Green!"

"For fuck's safe, do you seriously trust Luke. He's a fucking Hornet!"

"He had a chance to lead a Hornet army right up our ass, but he didn't."

"Obviously they're waiting until we're all tucked up and cozy to come in here and slaughter us all. We can't trust this bullshit!" he exclaimed as he grabbed for the green paper, tearing it in half.

"Alright, genius. What do you suggest?"

"That we attack them right now!"

"Oh yeah! With our professional army and whatnot. Are you being serious right now?!"

"We cannot trust them. They'll kill us the second we poke our heads out."

"You're being paranoid" Miro said.

"You're too naïve to realize that these Hornets are killer."

"You know what? Screw this. This conversation's over. We leave tomorrow and that's final. We're putting this shithole behind us once and for all."

"But- "

"Over!"

She walked off into the sewers, leaving Janick behind.

"Motherfucker!" he exclaimed, kicking his bedroll on the ground. "Can you believe this shit?"

"I think it'll be fine." I replied.

"You seriously trust those Hornets?"

"No. I don't trust those Hornets, but I trust Luke. I trust that if the Hornets didn't go ahead with it, he would warn us, tell us that there would be no peace. That's what friends do. They warn each other, they help each other."

Janick laughed. A cruel, mean laugh. "Hell, Reek, you're more naïve than Miro is. I see where you get it from now."

He walked off to his own corner of the room. He was refusing to pack up any of his belongings while the others got their shit together. He would probably rather get left behind than leave this city. Honestly, I wouldn't mind that. I liked Janick and all, but he could be a bully at times, just an ass to everyone around him. I don't think it would be any terrible loss for the Rats if he got left behind.

A few hours later, a crawled up into my bedroll for the last time in these sewers. I took it all in. The dampness, how cold it was, not like autumn weather was helping, and just how it felt in here. It was a feeling I always felt. That nervousness. That fear. But this time, it was a good anxiety. A good nervousness. It was wondering we would do with our lives out of this city. What we would do. Who would we be. All that stuff. Then I wondered about Citadel. Who would replace us. I was naïve, but I wasn't an idiot. I knew that the turf wars wouldn't end the second we left, no. There would be different gangs. Different people. Maybe better, maybe worse. _Who would find these sewers? Who would find the Hive? Who would step where we stepped? Do what we did?_ If lucky, nobody would. Hell, if we were **really** lucky, the Earth Kingdom would come up from beneath the ground this very moment and take over the city. They would free us from poverty, feed us, keep us safe, but that was childish imagination speaking. That wasn't the real world we lived in and I had to grow up to see that. I turned over on my side to see if this angle would get me falling asleep quickest. Everybody was asleep save for Janick and Miro who were talking at the far side of the room. I couldn't hear what they were saying from where I was, but I could still see them.

I saw Miro put a hand on Janick's shoulder, probably trying to calm him down about the whole affair. They were deep in conversation and it looked heated, but quiet at the same time. Then, it seemed to cool down. The hand gestures slowed, and the air of the room felt far more relaxed. Miro turned around, waving a hand to say goodnight when Janick put a and on her shoulder, turned her around, and kissed her. I was damn glad Luke told me about Miro earlier today or this would've been one hell of an awkward situation for me. They parted, then continued again. I was wondering if I should turn away, if maybe this was creepy for me to be watching, but they took care of that for me, Janick grabbed Miro by the hand and led her out of the sleeping room, somewhere else. Soon after, I heard the sound of the sewer grate being raised for the pair to exit. Where they were going, I couldn't say. I wanted to laugh to myself, thinking about how uncomfortable I would have felt had I seen this a night before. I was damn glad Luke was around. Except he wasn't. I would miss him, but still, was glad we could part on better terms. I don't want to think about how we would have next met had this plan not have been a thing. I rolled over onto my other side, praying it worked better now.

I let my eyes close. And let sleep take me.

But sleep didn't come. Footsteps did. I opened my eyes and they were still coming. I figured of course it was Janick and Miro, but it was cautious, like it was trying to avoid being heard. Slowly, I rolled back onto my other side, looking towards the entrance of the sleeping room. But of course, it was false alarm. Janick came in, went to his corner of the room, and even packed some of his things. I saw him pack his knife into his bag, but nothing else. Still, it was a start. Janick lied down on his mat and just like that, was out like a light.

I was still waiting for Miro to come back. I waited a good 10 minutes. Then another. Then another. She always slept in the same room as us. Nothing changed. I thought maybe she had to use the bathroom. I didn't know how girls did it, but it could've been longer than boys. But then, after 10 more minutes, she still wasn't back.

Slowly, I slipped out of my bedding. I stood up to my feet, using my bedroll to muffle the sound of my feet on the stone-cold floor. I didn't bother putting my footwraps on. I paced my way through the mass of sleeping boys, taking care not to step on anyone of them. I looked at Janick as I came short of his corner to enter the hallway. He was fast asleep. He almost looked happy. I was nervous. Nervous about why Janick looked happy. Nervous about where Miro was and if she was okay.

I approached the latter that led outside of the sewers. It was open. I had heard it be opened, but not closed. I hadn't even thought about that until now. I looked behind me to see if I was being followed. I wasn't. I started my way up the later, each individual rung feeling especially cold against my bare feet. I lifted the sewer grate just to make some more room for me to squeeze past. I pushed myself out, and eased the grate to the stony floor, inch by inch. Still, it landed with a sound far louder than I would have liked, which was unfair as I wanted no sound. I looked down the alley both ways to see them empty.

"Miro?" I whispered. "Where are you. Are you out here." There was no response. I chose the way that led deeper into the maze of alleys rather than just going out on the street. If Miro **had** gone out to piss, I would think she would want more privacy. I heard girls were like that. I was walking past a pile of garbage when I felt myself step in something wet. At first, I thought it might be urine, but when I tried to raise my feet, it stuck. I turned and saw that along the niche in the alley, where dumpsters were usually stored, there was that same dark liquid splattered against the wall. I came closer, the weird liquid still sticking to my feet. The smell nearly overtook me, becoming more and more foul as I came closer. One of the dumpster was locked shut. One, wasn't, but I saw something sticking out.

At first, I thought it was a tree branch. It looked that way. When I touched it, I realized it wasn't a branch. It was a hand. "Miro?" I asked, the words getting caught in my throat. I opened the dumpster and there she was, a line of thick red blood going across her neck. Some of her clothes were off like she'd been undressing when she was killed. But there she sat, dead.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry, to pass out, but I closed the dumpster. I turned around and walked away. _This isn't happening. This is a dream. Just get back in bed and you'll wake up. You'll be outside of Citadel and this'll all be over._ I climbed back down the latter, not bothering to close the sewer grate behind me. I couldn't change anything in my dream or I wouldn't be able to come out. I walked back through the halls. I walked past a sleeping Janick, with the same grin on his face and crawled back into my bedroll.

I closed my eyes and opened them. I tried a second time and a third, pinching myself, doing whatever I could to wake up from this nightmare. I rinsed and repeated the same process until I could feel my eyes watering and the same patch of skin I'd been pinching go raw. _Miro was dead. Janick killed her. Janick killed Miro. I knew that. I shouldn't have known that. Now he'll kill me. Other people will know he killed me and he'll kill them. He's going to kill us all. No. It's still just a dream. I can still wake up._ I didn't wake up from the nightmare. There was no way of waking up from this nightmare. But Miro did. She found a way. She was awake now. I was still here. In this nightmare. I looked back to Janick, that same grin of his face. I knew it was him. I wanted to kill him, but I couldn't. He would hear me. He would know. And he would kill me. He would tell the rest some lie about the Hornets attacking and killing us both and they'd believe it because while Miro was the mother of this family, he was the father. They would follow him and there was nothing I could do to stop. I would follow him, and there was nothing I could do to stop myself. I had nothing else anymore. I finally fell asleep, crying into the straws of my pillow.

I don't think I even fell asleep. I just opened my eyes. They were still hurt from the night before. When I woke up, the entire mass of the Rats was murmuring amongst themselves, asking each other questions I couldn't individually make out when Janick walked into the room.

He had a hand shielding his eyes from the crowd until he wiped them and stood up to face us. He meant to look like he was hurt. Like he had maybe been crying. I wasn't the idiot here this time. I wasn't the naïve one. I was the only one here aside from Janick who knew what this was.

"Miro." He said, pausing to catch a bullshit breath. "Miro is dead."

The crowd erupted in murmurs and some cries and a hell lot of questions all aimed to Janick.

"I. I don't know when this happened, but, when I woke up, she wasn't here. I went outside, and-and the Hornets killed her."

His voice was losing the sadness, losing the misery and the fake crying. It was starting to grow into something else. Something accusation, something angry, something dangerous.

"Those cowards, those Hornet assholes led us to believe we could put all this bloodshed behind us. They told us this was over, that there didn't have to be any more bloodshed, but they lied to us! They killed the only person in this city who ever cared for us! And now, they expect to walk into the hands of the Fire Nation, so they can go on murdering, raping, and burning whatever the fuck they please!"

He had the crowd. They too had left the sadness and sobbing behind. This wasn't a funeral anymore. This was a rally. This was the beginning of something dangerous. Something that would get people killed.

"I don't think so! They think they own us! They think that they can do whatever the fuck they want and get away with it! Fuck that shit! We're going to show them otherwise. We're going to kill them all!

And as that cheer went up, I realized that Janick was wrong. He called me naïve before for trusting people, but now, I was the only sane one here. The only one who wasn't going to follow this madman to his slaughter. I didn't cheer, but I did march. I marched when he left the sewers with all 15 of his remaining Rats, armed with swords, bows, spears, some explosives. He was marching to war and at this same time, Luke believed we were leaving this city for good, leaving for a better life, but we weren't. We were marching on him and his Hornets for war. As we walked through the alleyway to access the main streets, I found my exit and took it. I ran.

I took different alleys, I took the small roads and ran. Ran as fast as I could until. They would be on the grain road. That's the road they always would open. I ran and ran and ran. I knew where I had to go. I just prayed I could get there quick enough.

 **Luke**

We were all gathering outside in the courtyard for the last time. We were finally leaving. When I walked out of the cell that had been my bedroom, I couldn't get over how empty it looked. All our possessions, gone. Every room empty. The cafeteria, empty. All the food had been loaded in the cart. We figured the Fire Nation would probably appreciate anything from the Hive we could bring them. After all, most of it used to be theirs. The cart was loaded, and the sun was just coming up. It was time. We were all gathered with Danev and Riu at the front.

"All right" Riu said. "Before we ask, I have to ask if you're leaving anything all behind because we're not going to back for a little while." That earned him a small chuckle or two across the audience. It wasn't enough for him. "I also ask, that if you have to use the restroom, go now because we're not making any stops." That got more of the result he was hoping for. The general mood amongst the Hornets, was, actually, happy. Most of all Riu. It was strange. For once, he actually seemed to feel back in control, like he was doing something not at the behest of others, but because it was right. I never knew how much that had the potential to affect somebody, but now, I had a good idea.

With laughter and chatter going amongst us, we left. We didn't care about being quiet or about waking people up. It was over. We were all together as a family and we were safe. We felt that safety as we walked through the smaller streets until we made it to the far end of the grain road. We all turned east and that was it, the inner walls right in front of us. We walked, there was no march or formation, just a walk. I stood near the front with Danev and Riu. They figured that Zar'un would want to see me to make sure all was as it should be.

With any luck, Miro and her gang would already be outside the city by now, headed for the forest. I look back behind me at the outer wall. I had faith in them.

As we approached the grain gate, we could make out the Fire Nation soldiers standing at the sides of the road, lining the rest of the way down to the gate. Probably to make sure we didn't try shit. That was fair enough, I just hoped that the rest of the Hornets would be just as understanding. I turned around and it appeared so. Nobody was showing any sign of nervousness. They seemed calm for the most part. As we passed a pair of Fire Nation soldiers, they would come together at our rear, standing in columns of 2. I wondered if these would be the same soldiers who would go to raid the Rat hideout. Boy would they be disappointed. But that wouldn't matter. That wouldn't have any effect on us if a few minutes time.

Finally, we could see the gate in front of us rise to an open position, the metal bars rising into the steel wall. Zar'un motioned for us to stop and he did. He was walking forward with two of his guards when I heard something. The sound of footsteps, coming from our right. An alleyway.

The Hornets, Zar'un, and the Fire Nation soldiers all turned to face the noise. I pushed myself to the front to see what was happening. And out from the alley came an all too familiar friend. _No. Why are you hear._ He was out of breath and saw that he had been running. 2 Fire Nation soldiers went to apprehend him when he got his first words out, "Luke."

I pushed forward, trying to hear him, but the Fire Nation soldiers were grabbing him by both arms to restrain him, but he resisted. He got out a phrase this time, longer than the first, but I couldn't hear it. He stomped his foot on one of the soldier's foot, loosening his grip and letting go of Reek who rushed. Forward right towards us Hornets.

"The fuck are you doing, Reek?"

Luke! The Rats, they're coming!"

Just then, an explosion sounded from behind us. When I turned, half of the Hornets were on the ground with multiple Fire Nation soldiers rising to get up, weapons ready. I turned back towards Reek and that's when I saw them, every Rat and Citadel appearing from the roofs, alleyways, and streets, bows drawn, weapons raised.

"Close the Gate!" I heard from the Fire Nation side of the road.

 _No._ Suddenly, every Fire Nation soldier on the street was rushing towards the gate to get inside before it closed on them. They weren't the only ones. We made the run for it too, but it meant nothing. The steel portcullis fell straight down, blocking us off from the promised land. There we stood, Hornets and Rats with the rare Fire Nation straggler.

"What the fuck is this!?" Riu called above the ringing in all of our ears from the explosion.

From the roof of one of the stone buildings, archer on either one of his sides, came out Janick, a stick of dynamite in his hand. "Vengeance!" he called. And with that, everything went to hell.

I watched arrows get loosened, striking Hornets and Fire Nation soldiers down alike. I felt a small pain in my thigh that felt like the bite of some insect and nearly fell to the ground, but somehow kept my footing. It didn't matter. I saw bows being raised at me until I was knocked to my feet from an explosion that came from behind me. My ears ringing, I took my face out of the stone and was looking up at the charging army of Rats, coming to kill me when I was grabbed by the shoulder and rushed to the cart, using it as cover.

"What the fuck is happening!?" I shouted to Danev over the chaos.

"You were fucking betrayed, that's what's happening!" Danev reached over the side of the cart, pulling out a short sword, preparing for a fight. We need to get to the alleyway, use it for cover."

He was referring to the one on our side, but it was maters away with no cover whatsoever nearby. I grabbed the side of the cart, grunting as I attempted to push it. Danev caught on quickly enough and began pushing as well. Some of the other Hornets saw what we were doing and Sar'di, holding a bow, rushed behind it, using it as cover as we pushed the cart. I looked over and saw one of Sar'di's arrows strike home, hitting a Rat square in the neck, sending him off the roof of the building he was perched on. Behind, Fire Nation soldiers were engaging the Rats in hand to hand combat. They were better trained, but outnumbered. The soldiers cut down 2 or 3 of them before being overwhelmed by bodies and arrows. The soldiers were dead. It was Rats against Hornets now. Exactly what I had wanted to avoid.

The Rats saw what we were doing and began shooting at the cart. Danev and I, pushing it, were close enough to use it as cover. Sar'di returned fire well enough until an arrow in the knee brought him to a kneel, and a second through his eye ended his life. Danev and I left him behind, still pushing the cart. We were getting closer to the alleyway. If we got the cart there, we could get out of this hellhole.

That wasn't how it went, though. The arrows kept coming at us while explosions still riddled the plaza. I figured they were aiming for masses of people, not a moving cart. It was going fine until a fire lit arrow hit the supplies at the top of the cart, quickly ignited all the food and weapons above. "We had blasting jelly in there, right?" I asked Danev next to me who was huddling behind the cart. In a heartbeat, he grabbed me and tackled me out of the way. The explosion behind us left a ringing in my ear first than the worst explosion. It was still ringing when I looked up and saw what the streets had come to:

The Rat archers on the roof had been killed, the last one falling from the ceiling with bow still in hands. I saw one of the Rats, Sarik, stab Ladle, who had been trying to defend himself with a stick on the ground, through the heart with a sword, laughing all the while. I saw Goni swing a club at a smaller Rat's head who I recognized to belong to one of Reek's friends, Lean. The club knocked him down, only for Goni to pick up his light body and use it for a shield from Sarik who stabbed straight through Lean's small body, still reaching Goni who was behind. Goni, enraged, grabbed for his own knife, stabbing it into Sarik's shoulder, who plunged the sword even deeper until Goni's blade found Sarik's neck. Sarik released the sword, dropping Lean's impaled body and Goni before falling himself.

Janick, out of explosives, jumped down from the roof, regrouping whichever Rats were still alive to kill us all while we were down. He charged, and whichever of us were still alive were his targets. I looked for Danev but couldn't find him. What I could find was a Rat charging me with a sword raised over his head. I jumped to the ground, sliding a few inches and kicked at his feet. He stumbled but refused to fall. It gave me the time I needed to rise to my feet until I felt something enter my side to see it was a Rat's spear. The same Rat had sword exit through his throat and dropped to the ground in front of me. Riu stood behind him and pushed me out of the war, stabbing his sword through the other Rat's chest. The blade went in with the glint of the morning sun but came back out a deep crimson.

'Where's Danev!?" he asked me, putting a hand on my shoulder as I was struggling to keep the blood from my side wound inside of me.

"I don't know!"

"Get out of here and find- "He didn't get a chance to finish. I saw the sword leave through his chest, through his heart. The sword left, and lifeless body fell. Janick stood behind him, an inhuman grin on his face as he wiped the sword off of Riu's fallen corpse.

"Man, oh man." He said, pacing towards me. "You really should not have trusted me. I was walking backwards and felt myself trip over the body of someone's corpse. Who, I couldn't say. He raised his sword but was interrupted as the swing of a sword when across his stomach. It was no deep cut, but Danev stood in front of me, holding his own blade over Riu's body. He looked down at the corpse of his closest friend, the man he had considered to be his brother and turned towards me. "Go! Get out of here!"

I did. Still clutching to my side, I did as he told me to, stood up, and ran, not daring to turn and look at the battle between Danev and Janick behind me. I didn't know where I was running. I ran through a small skirmish that was still going on between a Rat and a Hornet. The Hornet who I didn't take the time to recognize gained the upper hand, stabbing the Rat through the leg and swinging his sword in a fluid motion across the Rat's neck, sending him to the ground. I turned around to see a second Rat approach him. 'Watch out!" I called to him. It was soft, but it was enough. The Hornet, dropped to a knee, turning his torso, slashing his sword across the man's stomach, releasing his captive guts onto the ground. When the Hornet stood up, I thought I finally recognized him until a Rat's spear took him in the side, sending him to the ground. The Rat turned towards me, pulling his spear out of the Hornet's body until a pained grimace rose to his face. When he turned around, I saw him too. It was Trap, holding a bloody knife that he had just used to stab the Rat. The Rat kicked him backwards, sending Trap flat on his back.

I rushed forward, grabbing the dead Hornet's sword, hoping to get a swing at the Rat's legs. He noticed me and swung his spear, knocking me on my back, stealing whatever breath I had. Trap was attempting to rise to his feet and was now facing the Rat when the entirety of the spear went through his body. The Rat lifted the spear to the now brightening skies, Trap's small frame still wrapped around it. He brought the spear tip close to him, planting a foot against Trap's dying body, choking on his own blood, kicking him off his spear. At the same time Trap fell to the ground, I swung the sword I was holding at the Rat's feet. The sword went nearly through his entire right ankle and he fell to the ground in a scream of agony. I didn't bother to stick around. I threw the sword to the ground and ran. I ran until what had been a small pain in my thigh suddenly became much worse. I felt to the ground on my bad sighed and didn't even hear myself scream from the pain, the ringing still drowning out all other noise. I crawled the rest of the way into the cover of an alleyway where nobody could see me or hurt me.

A burst of pain came again from my thigh and for the first time, I actually looked at it to see an arrow had gone nearly through my entire leg. It was in deep. I felt my vision going black but hit my head against the back of the alleyway to get myself back into focus. I wasn't going to take out the arrow here. Too much bloody loss. I grabbed the arrow by a spot on the shaft close to the entry wound and pulled the rest of the arrow in the other direction. It snapped, and I managed to take off the majority of the arrow.

I looked to the wound in my side and saw that it was bleeding, badly. I wanted to puke when I saw the puss already coming out from the wound. I put both my hands on my wound, trying to keep as much pressure as I could on it. I felt my vision go black a second time, but this time, I couldn't fight it. I blacked out.

When I woke the dust had settled from the fighting and the entire grain road was a mess of craters and corpses. The bleeding had stopped, and I could no longer hear the noise of the fighting. I crawled out into the open road, looking. Looking for anybody I knew, anybody who could kill me. Anything. Once again, I passed by Riu's body, but there was nobody to accompany him. I put all my weight on my one good leg, standing to get a better view. "Danev!" I called. "Danev!" "Da- "I felt a hand close around my mouth and felt my heart jump. The adrenaline had come back along with my focus. I turned around to meet the threat of whoever it was behind me. It was no threat.

"Reek?"

"Holy shit" he said. "You're alive?"

"I. I guess? Is anyone else still alive?"

"I don't know. If they are, they won't be for long. Come on, follow me."

"Follow you?"

"We're leaving the city, right now."

"Wait, Reek. What the fuck happened here? Where's Miro."

Reek turned around and looked at me. There was a hurt in the eyes. The hurt of a beaten dog. "Miro." He started. "Janick killed her. He killed her in the middle of the night. I knew he liked her, but I guess he hated you more." He said, somewhere lost between a laugh and a cry. "Fuck. Let's just leave."

"No, I. I don't think I would make it long." I said, showing him the hole in my side and arrow in my thigh.

"Oh shit." He said. At first, I thought he was talking about me, but he was looking behind me. I saw what he saw and felt my breath catch. Reek grabbed the closest weapon, a spear on the ground and started forward, ready to land the killing blow. I used what will I had left to stand up and get in between Reek and Janick, who was lying against the side of a stone building, clutching a wound that appeared to go through his side. "Wait, Reek!" He tried to push me aside, but I stood my ground, as best as I could. "Wait!"

"Wait? Wait for fucking what? Him?" he asked, pointing the tip of the spear to Janick's dying body. He's the reason we're fucking here. He's the reason everyone on this street is dead.

"Okay, look. I understand! I want him dead too, but he's already dead. Look at him! I want him to die as much as the next man. All this shit is because of him, I know, but if you kill him like this, with him at your mercy, defenseless, it's going to kill you."

"And how the fuck would you know. Who have you killed?!"

"I haven't. I-I just know. Just, don't kill him like this. He's already dying." I turned back to the body of Janick, staring at me, spitting out his own blood and guts on a regular basis.

"I have more reason to want him dead than anyone else living in the world, but it's not worth it. He's not worth the nightmares he'll give you because you killed him while he was already down."

Reek looked at me, the hate visible in his eyes, the look somebody had right before they killed a man. He raised his spear and I thought for a moment he would kill me just to get to Janick, but the look of hate in his eyes left him. He sighed and dropped the spear, kicking it aside across the street.

"Damnit!" He shouted to nobody in particular. I was still looking at the street around me, at the piles of corpses, still trying to piece together what had just happened. Still trying to figure out what had gone wrong and why so many needed to die.

Reek turned back to Janick. "Are you proud of yourself, cunt? Did you get what you wanted? Well whoop-dee-fucking-doo! You did it! You killed the Hornets. And it didn't cost you shit, did it? You didn't give two fucks about the Rats, you just wanted to kill, didn't you? You killed Miro and now you've killed everybody who ever believed in you."

Janick, blood still coming from out of his mouth, smiled. "Fuck you, Reek. I knew you were a traitor. All you had to do was march in a stupid line. We'd be alive, and all those Hornet fucks would be dead. Even you." He said as he looked towards me.

This time, I turned towards him. Reek got his questions out and it was time for me to ask my own. "Where's Danev?"

He laughed. "What? That stupid Hornet I killed. Yeah. He's dead. Just like Riu, and just like you. All dead."

"I'm still alive, Janick. Not even you could kill us all."

Then I made a mistake. I turned my back on him. I doubted the capacity for killing he still had in him. I didn't have time to turn around before I felt Reek knock me out of the way, rush in front of me and not I second later, I saw the knife that went through **his** chest where it should have been me.

Janick, the disappointment on his face, pushed reek aside, pulling out his knife, lurching towards me. I stumbled back on the ground, felt my hand fall over what felt like the hilt of a sword, raised it, and saw Janick fall on its point as he attempted to stab me where I lay on the ground. The sword went straight through his heart. I waited a few seconds, still shocked by what had happened and let go of the sword. He fell to the ground next to me.

I quickly pushed myself away from the dead body, looking across the street and saw him, Reek, lying on the ground, clutching his chest. I quickly rose, ignoring the pain all over my body and slid next to him where he lay on the ground, putting pressure on the entry wound. Reek looked up at me and smiled, as though amused by my efforts to help him. "Don't bother. It went through."

"No. No. Fuck that. You'll be fine."

"Don't bother. I'm happy where I am."

"What the fuck? Why did you do that shit?"

"Why'd I save your sorry ass? It's like I always said, I owed you."

"Fucking stop with that. You've been saying that since the day we met. Why?"

He chuckled, coughing up what look to be some intestine and a shit load of blood. "Because. You did. Today. I always said you stopped me from doing something horrible, becoming something, I wasn't." he laughed again. "Believe me or not, I had this dream, the day before we first met. I was standing over the body of some dying man I didn't recognize, ready to kill him when somebody with your face stopped me. You said the exact same shit and I only realize what it was today, when you said the exact same words."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Yeah, I'm just fucking with you. I just said that shit to make you feel like you owed me." He laughed again, not getting much of a result this time, but merely coughing up a large chunk of blood that spattered of my shirt.

He chuckled again. "Sorry. I just ruined your shirt."

I shook my head. I wasn't going to let him die here. Not like this. "Come on, we're getting you up." I tried to lift him, but I was too weak, and he was locked on the ground. He scoffed. "Don't worry about me, Luke. I'm fine here. I-I. Thank you.

"Why are you thanking me now?" I asked, my vision blurring from the tears now beginning to form. I knew he was said. I think I knew before, but now that he laid here, his voice sinking and his blinks growing longer, I knew it was over for him.

"Everyone always told me that everyone in this city was a killer. I didn't want to believe that. I wanted to think that I could die without every killing somebody. Because of you, I can. I don't want to be a killer."

"You're not", I said, choking on holding back my own tears. "You're not a killer." I didn't bother to wipe away my tears. I didn't care how I looked to anyone, I just wanted to be here for my closest friend, for Reek.

He chuckled one last time followed by a dry cough that even sounded painful. "I'm sorry for being a dick to you for a while. I just, hated the idea of us being on separate sides, but we never were. We were always still friends. Weren't we?"

"We were." I said, wiping away the tears on my face. "We **are** friends."

He smiled up at me one last time. "Thank you, Luke. Thank you, for being my friend." And with that, he closed his eyes. His head fell to the ground as the life left his body.

I wanted to do something more. Maybe say one last prayer to whatever spirits were listening but felt a cold gloved hand grab my shoulder. "We found another one." I heard a deep voice say. I felt the man's other hand grab me from around my waste. I turned trying to free myself, banging a fist on the man's chest, but only hit hard metal. The man heaved me onto his shoulder as though I were a sack of potatoes and walked me down the street, to where, I didn't even know. I saw Reek's body one last time on the ground as we walked away. Next to Janick's body sword in his chest, eyes open, dead writhing in pain, Reek looked at peace. As though he had come to terms with it all. I luxury I didn't have. I looked up from where he lay on the ground. The dust had begun to clear and now, I could make out the chaos of the world around me. Craters from the explosions made up what was left of the road, buildings were still aflame, and bodies littered the ground, most of them I recognized. Trap, Lean, Ladle, Janick, Riu, and Reek. All dead. All of them. The only life I had ever known, the slums disappeared behind me as the morning fog clouded the battlefield and the steel portcullis of the military district fell back into place, locking my old life away. I didn't know what would happen to me now, but I knew that no matter what did, nothing would ever be the same.


	31. Epilogue: All That Was Left

I don't really remember much of what happened after that. Everything's just a haze when I think back on it. I can make out small events, but everything in between is just a blind spot in my memory. I remember being hauled up and carried through the Citadel gates into the military district as I watched the lifeless bodies of my past dissolve into the morning mist. I remember 5 different faces I didn't recognize looking down on me as I could feel finally feel the adrenaline fading away as the pain from my cuts and wounds finally came into the picture. What I remember most is what happened after that.

I was sitting up on a chair in front of a mirror, watching as my hair was being shaved away down to the point where only a small layer remained. I had never realized how long my hair was. I guess, it was to be expected as I could never remember getting a haircut in my entire life. I watched the longs locks fall on my shoulder, letting them pile atop one another as I lacked the energy to brush them off. I just sat there, my own reflection giving me that deadeye stare, devoid of life and energy. _I'm not supposed to be alive._ As I sat there, the realization hit me. I wasn't supposed to be there. Hell, maybe I wasn't. Maybe I did die there, on that street. Reincarnation wasn't a new concept. I sure as hell didn't recognize my own face in that mirror. Was I even that same slum kid who led over 30 people to their deaths? I saw their faces when a mirror was held to the back of my head as though asking how much I liked my newly shaven head.

I was told one thing in the slums my entire life, that nothing was more important than **survival**. That everything came down to just that. The people you associated with, the decisions you made, all of it. And I did just that for over 11 years. I survived. I kept my head low, I associated with people who I knew I had a good chance of surviving with. Then, less than 24 hours ago, I made a decision. I decided that there was more to life than survival. And now, because of that misguided decision, everybody I knew was dead. I stood in that steel hallway, lost because I hadn't heard where I was supposed to go next. Where there were supposed to be almost 20 of us, only I stood. The rest, everybody else, was dead. Mishi, Miro, Trap, Ladle, Riu, Danev, Reek. They were all dead, their corpses probably being picked over by looting slum kids and being nested by fucking maggots and flies while I stood here, concerned with a fucking haircut. I was it. Everything else was gone. My past was just that, the past. Gone now. I didn't survive those slums. Maybe if I had survived, and done just that, and not done anything more, there would be more of us, but I fucked up. And for it, it was just me. I was all that was left.


End file.
